


Unexpected Consequences

by Reading_Nut_Cassirole



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Human Experimentation, Kidnapping, M/M, Mpreg, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 05:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 25
Words: 95,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15923663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reading_Nut_Cassirole/pseuds/Reading_Nut_Cassirole
Summary: Asuma, Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, Shikamaru, Sakura, Kiba, and Lee have all disappeared from the village. What does this madman what with these eight shinobi? And what happens after he lets them go? Warnings: Sexual Content, Yaoi, and Mpreg Pairings: AsuShika, ShikaTema, KakaSaku, KibaKure, GaiLee





	1. Disappearances

**Author's Note:**

> Disclamier: I own nothing. 
> 
> I got this idea after reading Male Pregnancy Serum by AshakiranTheTenthBeast. 
> 
> You should go read that story. It's way better than mine, but I do hope you'll give mine a chance.

Shikamaru walked up to the Hokage's office and knocked. When he got the ok to come in, he opened the door and saw the former Team 10, Asuma, Ino, and Choji, standing in front of a very annoyed looking Hokage.

"Nara," Tsunade began, "where the heck have you been? I summoned you ten minutes ago!"

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head and avoided looking at Tsunade by looking over at Asuma who had his arms crossed and a not so happy look on his face. "Uh," Shikamaru began and finally turned to the angry Hokage, "I… uh…"

Tsunade sighed, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Forget it." She looked over to Asuma. "The mission you four have is extremely important." She picked up a scroll from her desk. "This letter contains very important information for the Feudal Lord of the Land of Earth. There will be enemy shinobi trying to get this info, which is why I am assigning a four man squad for this mission." She began to hand the scroll to Asuma, but before he could grab it, Asuma disappeared from the spot.

Ino gasped at Asuma's disappearance, and Tsunade looked shocked. "What the…" Tsunade began, but was cut off by Choji.

"Hey, Shikamaru's gone too!"

Tsunade lowered her arm, just now realizing that it was still outstretched, and looked over to where the lazy ninja had been standing, but saw that he was gone too. "What the heck is going on here?" she demanded

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Sakura sat on the ground, her head leaned back against one of the large posts in the training ground with her eyes closed, listening to Naruto pace and complain. "Why does he always do this? Can he ever be on time for once in his life."

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, calm down. You know that's just how Kakashi Sensei is."

"Yeah, I know, but he doesn't have to  _always_  be late!" Naruto yelled turning to face her. "You'd think Kakashi Sensei would've grown up by now!"

Sakura smirked. "Yeah, like you should talk."

"What did you say?" Naruto yelled.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, but there was…"

"Kakashi Sensei, why are you always late!" Naruto asked turning his anger on the man. "Can't you be on time for once in your life?" Sakura finally looked over to Naruto, got up, and punched him on the head when she finally reached him. "Oww, Sakura. What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed the lump on his head, turning to face her.

Sakura just ignored him and looked over to Kakashi. "So, what are we doing today?"

Kakashi looked between the two then finally settled on Sakura, giving her a once over before he answered. "Well, I thought we could start off with a bit of sparing, and then work on a new team combination."

"A new team combination?" Naruto asked excitedly, the pain in his head now forgotten.

"Yes, I thought it was about time that we worked to improve our teamwork a bit, especially after our last mission," Kakashi said as he looked at Naruto.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"Alright then, shall we get started?" Kakashi asked with his signature smile.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted and fist pumped the air as he jumped.

"Naruto, that is exactly why I said what I did earlier," Sakura said.

"What do you mean, Sakura?" Naruto asked completely confused, but before she had a chance to answer, both Sakura and Kakashi disappeared. "What?!"

Naruto looked around, but the area was completely empty. He then dashed off to the Hokage's office to tell Tsunade what happened.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

"Alright, keep it up!" Guy said.

Ten Ten, Neji, and Rock Lee were running around their training ground, Lee further ahead than the others, as Guy encouraged them on.

"Guy Sensei, we've been running for twenty minutes now," Ten Ten asked as she tried to keep her feet moving. "Can't we stop already?"

"I have to agree," Neji said also tired, but he wouldn't show it.

"Come on, guys," Lee said as he passed them, running backwards. "Use the Power of Youth to keep you going. We still have a hundred more laps to go."

"Yeah, but we've already done a hundred and fifty already," Ten Ten complained. "We're tired, and I… I can't go on anymore," she said and fell to her knees panting.

Neji stopped as well and made sure Ten Ten was all right.

"But Ten Ten…" Lee started but stopped when Guy raised his hand.

"No, Lee, Ten Ten's right."

"Thank you," Ten Ten said in relief.

"We need to move on to the sparing now," Guy finished.

"Yes, Guy Sensei!" Lee said and saluted.

"Wha-?!" Ten Ten gasped.

Neji just closed his eyes.

"Alright, Neji, Ten Ten, you two will be sparing together. Lee, you'll be sparing with me," Guy said ignoring his students' complaints.

"But Guy Sensei, can't we take a short break?" Ten Ten begged as Neji helped her off the ground.

"No my youthful students, we must endure through the pain and keep going," Guy said and gave a thumbs up and his signature glaring smile.

Neji crossed his arms. "You really should take it easy Guy Sensei, especially at your age."

Guy lost his pose at that comment and Lee took a step closer to the Hyuga Genius. "Just what do you mean by that?!" Lee accused. "Guy Sensei is the most youthful sensei in this village."

"Hmpf," Neji replied with his eyes closed, but opened them when he heard Ten Ten's gasp.

Neji lowered his arms when he saw that Guy and Lee were nowhere in the clearing.

"They… They just disappeared!" Ten Ten said horrified.

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled out, veins popping out beside his eyes. He scanned the area, but saw no sign of either of their chakras. He then released the byakugan and looked to Ten Ten. "We had better go inform the Hokage of what has happened."

Ten Ten just nodded and followed Neji out of the clearing.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba was thrown back and forced into the trunk of a large tree, leaving a slight indent as he sunk down to the ground.

Hinata gasped, covering her mouth, and ran over to him. "I-I'm so sorry, Kiba," she said as she helped the boy to stand.

"Heh, no problem, Hinata," Kiba replied with a grin on his face as he rubbed his now sore shoulder. "It only means you're getting better."

"I agree, Hinata," Shino said as he slowly made his way to the two. "Why? Because you never use to be able to throw Kiba like that after a hit."

Hinata smiled at the two with a blush on her face. "Th-thanks," she said shyly.

"Kiba and Shino are right, Hinata," Kurenai said as she approached the three. "You've definitely made progress on that jutsu."

"I-it's only because you guys have helped me over the years," Hinata said looking at each of them. "I'm really grateful."

Kiba just gave her a wide grin and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "No problem. Now the next thing we have to work on his your relationship with Naruto."

At the sound of Naruto's name, Hinata went red. "I-I-b-but…"

Kiba just laughed. "Oh come on, Hinata, what's the big deal. Everyone knows you like that blonde idiot."

"E-e-everyone?" she asked wide eyed.

"Yeah, it's no secret."

"No, you're wrong, Kiba. Why? Because Naruto is the only one that doesn't know." Shino countered.

Kiba withdrew his arm and focused on Shino. "That doesn't mean it's a secret to  _everyone_ , just that idiot, but that's just because he's blind as a bat," he bit back.

"Alright you two," Kurenai stepped in. "Enough. Why don't we get back to…"

Hinata gasped, Akamaru barked repeatedly, and Shino just stared in front of him where Kiba had been standing.

"Wha- what happened?" Hinata asked worried.

"I don't know, but we should go to Lady Hokage and inform her that Kiba and Kurenai Sensei have gone missing.

Hinata nodded and Akamaru gave a bark in reply. Then the three headed back to the village.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Shikaku knocked on the door before he opened it and stepped in. "You wanted to see me, Lady Tsunade?"

"Yes. Come in," Tsunade replied waving him in.

Shikaku stepped fully into the room and saw a stunned Choji and Ino standing there. "Is something wrong, Ma'am?" he asked as he walked up next to the two.

"I'm afraid so. Asuma and Shikamaru have…"

"Granny Tsunade!" Naruto yelled as he burst through the door. "Kakashi Sensei and Sakura vanished into thin air!"

"What?" Tsunade replied as she stood, but before she could say anything else, Neji, Ten Ten, Hinata, Shino, and Akamaru came through the door.

Shikaku looked at the now large group that stood in Tsunade's office then back at Tsunade. "May I ask what's going on?"

Tsunade ignored his question and looked over to the others. "Are you going to tell me that your teammate have disappeared as well?"

"Yes, Guy Sensei and Lee just disappeared before our eyes," Neji replied calmly.

"Yeah, same with Kiba and Kurenai Sensei," Hinata agreed.

Tsunade closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. After another minute she looked up at all of them. "It seems we have a situation on our hands."

Neji looked over to Ino and Choji. "Has Asuma and Shikamaru also vanished?"

"Yeah. They disappeared right in front of our eyes when Asuma was about to receive a scroll for our mission," Ino replied.

"Do we have any idea who might've done this?" Shikaku asked.

"No, it happened so suddenly, and apparently at the same time," Tsunade replied. "I asked you to come here to ask you if Shikamaru said anything about an enemy that he ran into while on another mission that he didn't tell me about."

"He never said anything to me," Shikaku said then looked over at Ino and Choji.

"They said they didn't hear anything either," Tsunade answered his unspoken question. "But now that it's more than just Asuma and Shikamaru that's vanished, it's a bigger problem."

"Guy Sensei never said anything," Ten Ten said.

"Neither did Kiba," Shino said in a quiet voice, but loud enough to be heard.

"Sakura seemed a little worried about something, but she wouldn't tell me what it was, just yelled at me saying it was none of my business," Naruto also offered.

Shikaku put his hand on his chin to think. "So we have eight shinobi that have disappeared and none of them seemed to say anything about a possible enemy." He then looked over to Tsunade. "It doesn't make much sense."

"No, it doesn't," Tsunade replied sitting back down in her chair.


	2. The Trap

Asuma picked himself off the ground and looked around. He saw Guy, Kakashi, and Kurenai as well as Lee, Kiba, Sakura, and Shikamaru. "What happened?"

Shikamaru walked up to him. "Don't know. We just suddenly appeared here," he said as he helped Asuma stand.

"Guy Sensei, have we been kidnapped from our village?" Lee asked.

"No, we went on vacation," Kiba said sarcastically. "Of course we got kidnapped!"

"Calm down, Kiba. There's no need to shout," Kurenai said.

"Uhh, has anyone else noticed that there are no doors or windows in this room," Sakura said.

Everyone looked around the room and saw that she was right. There were no windows or doors in the room. In fact, there was absolutely nothing in the room. The walls were completely bare, the floor complete concrete, and the only thing on the celling was a few lights.

"Does anyone else get the feeling we're being watched?" Guy said as he pointed to a small black orb in the corner of the room. No one had even noticed it until he said something.

"You think it's some kind of camera, Guy Sensei?" Lee asked as he walked closer to the wall.

"It's possible," Kakashi said. "Why would someone put us in this room if they didn't want to see us react to whatever they have in store for us?"

"But why us?" Shikamaru spoke up.

"Hmmm… Good point," Kakashi replied. "Why were the eight of us taken from the village and not the others?"

"Yeah. Why didn't Hinata, Shino, and Akamaru get transported here?" Kiba asked getting loud again.

"Or Neji and Ten Ten?" Lee added.

Asuma looked over at Shikamaru who had his hand on his chin thinking.  _'Wow he looks like his father when he does that.'_

Suddenly, chains shot out of the wall and grabbed the four students by the wrist, twisting as if they were being controlled to find their wrists no matter what, and forcefully pulled them back into the wall.

The four let out a cry as they hit the wall, and the four adults all rushed to them to try and get them free.

"What the heck is going on now?" Asuma asked as he tried to pry the restraints apart.

"They… They won't budge," Guy said and then fell on his butt when he lost his grip.

"Guy Sensei!" Lee cried out in concern.

"I'm ok, Lee," Guy said as he stood back up.

Before anyone else could utter a word, four force fields shot up from the ground, separating them into four groups. Now it was Kakashi and Sakura in one group, Guy and Lee to the left of them, Kurenai and Kiba to their right, and Asuma and Shikamaru across from them.

Kakashi left Sakura's side and went over to the force field. "Well, someone doesn't want us to be together."

"That's right," a voice called out.

Everyone looked around to find the person that spoke, but no one else besides the eight was in the room.

"Who said that?" Lee asked.

"I did," the voice said again.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked looking at the celling.

"Who I am is of no concern to you."

"Are you kidding me?" Kiba yelled. "First you kidnap us from our village, then you chain us to the wall! I'd say that would be a perfect reason for it to be our concern!"

"Kiba, please, calm down," Kurenai said.

"Seriously, Kiba, you're as bad as Naruto," Sakura said.

"What do you want with us?" Asuma yelled out.

"I've brought you here for one simple reason…"

"Let me guess," Shikamaru said cutting him off. "You were bored so you want us to entertain you."

"Your reputation precedes you, Shikamaru."

Everyone was surprised at that. "How did you know his name?" Guy asked.

"Simple. Because I've been watching him and the rest of you for quite a while now."

"You've been watching us?" Sakura asked a little horrified and disgusted.

"You sick jerk!" Kiba yelled.

"Why have you been watching us?" Kakashi asked.

"As Shikamaru said, I was bored."

"But why chain us to the wall?" Lee asked confused. "If you want entertainment, wouldn't it make sense for us to be free?"

"Yeah, we can't very well fight with our students chained to the wall," Guy agreed. The room was quiet. "Hey!"

"Enough!" the voice yelled out. "I tire of this talk. Entertain me and you shall be set free."

Asuma was about to say something, but they heard an audible pop that indicated that the guy was no longer going to talk to them. He then looked over at the others. "So what does he want us to do?"

No one knew the answer. They all lowered their heads to think.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair. It took a good ten minutes for her to convince everyone that there was nothing more they could do and to go home. Now she sat alone in her office. She turned in her chair, stood up, and went to the window to look out.  _'What in the world is going on? Why would someone take those eight shinobi specifically? Is there some connection between the eight of them that we can't figure out?'_

A knock was heard and she called for them to come in. "Umm, excuse me Ma'am."

Tsunade turned around and saw Temari standing in the door. "Yes, what can I do for you, Temari?" she asked as she went back and sat in her chair.

"Umm, well you see, I just heard that Shikamaru had disappeared from the village. Is that true?"

"I'm afraid it is."

Temari took a few more steps in. "So who took him? What happened?"

"I'm afraid we don't know much. Although, it wasn't just Shikamaru that disappeared."

"What do you mean? Who else?" Temari asked.

"Asuma was in the same room as him and disappeared at the same time, but soon we found out Kakashi, Kurenai, Guy, Lee, Kiba, and Sakura also disappeared from the village."

"All of them? But why?"

"That's what we want to know," Tsunade said and rubbed her forehead. "But we haven't received anything explaining why they were taken."

Temari looked down. "I see."

"You and Shikamaru are together, aren't you?"

Temari's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "W-what?"

Tsunade chuckled. "I'm not blind, Temari. I've seen the way you two look at each other. May I assume that you were the reason Shikamaru was late coming to my office?"

Temari's face went red and she looked down at the ground, and Tsunade got all the answer she needed. "I-I'm sorry, Ma'am. I-it won't happen again."

Tsunade smiled. "I'm sure it won't. But don't worry about the situation at hand. We'll find him and the others. Why don't you go see Ino or Hinata."

"Y-yes ma'am," Temari said. She looked up, her face still red, bowed and left the room.

"Ahh, to be young again."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

No one had spoken in the fifteen minutes since they talked to their captor. Shikamaru was racking his brain trying to figure out how to get out of this, but it wasn't going so well.  _'He wants us to entertain him, and yet, he locked me, and the other students to the wall so that we can't move. If he wanted us to fight he wouldn't have done that. So that means he wants a different entertainment.'_

He looked up at Asuma who was now sitting in the corner of the force field. He could see Asuma was also deep in thought. He looked over at the other three groups and saw Guy and Lee talking quietly, which was new to Shikamaru since he'd never heard any volume on Lee except loud, Kakashi and Sakura were just sitting, or standing in Sakura's case, probably thinking on how to get out too, and when he looked over to Kiba and Kurenai, he saw Kiba trying with all his strength to get free of the restraints with little result, Kurenai was just watching him. She said something too quiet for him to hear, but he could guess that she was telling Kiba to stop before he hurt himself.

 _'_ _It's been almost twenty minutes, and that guy hasn't said one word to us about what he wanted other than just entertainment.'_  He closed his eyes.  _'Ok, think. The four of us are chained to the wall, while Asuma and the other senseis are free to walk around the small space. Which is another thing, why the force field? Wouldn't it be more entertaining if we could all interact with each other? If not, that must mean he wants a specific outcome. Me and Asuma, Guy and Lee, Kakashi and Sakura, and Kiba and Kurenai have to do something together.'_

Shikamaru opened his eyes again and gave out a frustrated sigh. "Can't seem to figure it out?" Asuma asked looking over at him.

"Well it's obvious he has us in groups for a certain reason, but if he doesn't want us to fight each other, then what's he want?" Shikamaru said voicing his thoughts.

"You… You don't think he wants our senseis to kill us do you?" Kiba asked a bit worried.

Everyone turned to Shikamaru. "That can't be it, can it?" Guy asked taking a step toward the force field closes to Shikamaru.

"No, I don't think so," Shikamaru replied easing their worries. "But there has to be some reason that we're stuck to this wall."

"Come on, Mr. Genius," the captor began. "You can figure this out."

Shikamaru glared at the celling even though he couldn't see their captor. "Then how about a hint?" he bit back.

Asuma stood up and walked over to Shikamaru. "Shika, don't antagonize him."

"No, no, Asuma. I would only be glad to help the boy. I guess he wasn't as good as I thought," their captor replied. "But only one hint. I want to see your face when you figure it out."

Everyone waited for his hint, but when he said nothing, Kiba got angry again. "So what is it?!"

"All of you were chosen and placed in groups for a certain reason. Tell me, Mr. Genius, what did the four of you talk about a week ago?"

"What?" Sakura cried out. "That's your hint?"

"It is all you get," he replied and then the pop was heard once again.

"What kind of hint was that?" Kiba yelled.

"It does not make sense," Lee agreed.

Shikamaru looked down in thought.  _'A week ago? The four of us?'_ He thought for a few minutes as Asuma and the other just stared at him in silence.  _'He doesn't mean…'_

**_Flashback_ **

**_The Konoha 12, minus Sasuke, were sitting around a campfire in the middle of one of the training grounds. Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba were on one log Akamaru laying down next to him on the ground, Sakura and Ino sat on the ground in between them and Naruto and Lee, and Neji, Hinata, Ten Ten, and Shino were on the biggest log._ **

**_"_ ** **_Hey, Ino Pig, what's that supposed to mean?" Sakura yelled blushing a bit._ **

**_"_ ** **_Oh come on, Sakura. I've seen you eyeing Kakashi Sensei when he wasn't looking," Ino chided back._ **

**_"_ ** **_I-I have not!"_ **

**_Everyone was laughing at the two's exchange. "I bet you want to…"_ **

**_Sakura slapped a hand over Ino's mouth. "Say it and you're dead," she said seriously._ **

**_Ino pushed her hand away and just laughed. "Honestly you two," Neji said closing his eyes. "You shouldn't be talking about Kakashi Sensei like that."_ **

**_"_ ** **_Y-yeah, h-he is your s-sensei after all," Hinata agreed._ **

**_"_ ** **_Why would Sakura check out Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked completely confused._ **

**_Shikamaru sighed. "Just forget it, Naruto. They're just trying to make each other mad."_ **

**_"_ ** **_Oh yeah, Shikamaru? Well what about you?" Ino said._ **

**_"_ ** **_What about me?" Shikamaru said in a bored tone._ **

**_Ino gave an evil grin. "Have you and Temari ever done anything?"_ **

**_Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "What?! Of course not!"_ **

**_"_ ** **_Deny it all you want, Shika, but I know the truth."_ **

**_"_ ** **_Troublesome woman," Shikamaru said annoyed as he looked away._ **

**_"_ ** **_You know, Ino, I think you're wrong," Ten Ten said._ **

**_"_ ** **_Huh?" Ino looked over to her confused._ **

**_"_ ** **_I think he has a think for Asuma," Ten Ten continued._ **

**_Shikamaru lost his hold on the back of the log and fell to the ground. Choji, who had been eating a bag of chips, started choking, Kiba patting him on the back._ **

**_"_ ** **_Shikamaru, you're gay?" Naruto asked astonished._ **

**_Shikamaru got back on the log and looked over to him. "Of course not!"_ **

**_"_ ** **_Aww, look how he's blushing," Sakura stated._ **

**_"_ ** **_Well, I must say, that is very… uh… youthful," Lee said._ **

**_"_ ** **_I don't like Asuma!" Shikamaru yelled._ **

**_"_ ** **_But you always hanging out with him," Ino said continuing to aggravate him._ **

**_Shikamaru sighed. "He's a good friend."_ **

**_"_ ** **_If you say so," Ten Ten said giving him a wide grin._ **

**_"_ ** **_Well I'm gonna put this out there. I think Kurenai Sensei is hot," Kiba said loudly._ **

**_"_ ** **_Kiba, your just a dog that goes after any woman who will pay attention to you," Ino said._ **

**_"_ ** **_That's not true!" Kiba yelled. Akamaru lifted his head off the ground and whined. "Hey, don't you start," he yelled at Akamaru._ **

**_The girls all laughed. "Hey Lee," Naruto called over. Lee turned to him. "What's with you and Guy Sensei."_ **

**_"_ ** **_You know, I've always thought there was something going on between the two of you," Ten Ten said._ **

**_"_ ** **_That is not true," Lee defined himself. "Guy Sensei is a great teacher and I have learned a lot from him."_ **

**_"_ ** **_Yeah, I'm sure," Ino said. Sakura and Ten Ten just giggled. Hinata went red._ **

**_"_ ** **_I have! I have become a great shinobi thanks to him!" Lee said not understanding why the girls were giggling._ **

**_"_ ** **_They are just trying to rile you up, Lee. Don't encourage them," Neji said._ **

**_"_ ** **_So we have Forehead who likes her sensei, and both Lee and Shikamaru are gay for their's," Ino said putting it all together._ **

**_Shikamaru let out another sigh, stood up, and started walking back to the village._ **

**_"_ ** **_Hey, where you going, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked._ **

**_"_ ** **_I'm not gonna sit here and be insulted," he said and then disappeared into the trees._ **

**_End of Flashback_ **

Shikamaru shook his head.  _'No, that can't be it, can it?'_

"You figure something out, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked.

Shikamaru looked up and saw everyone staring at him. "Uhh, well something, but I doubt it's right."

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, any idea is better than none at all," Kakashi said.

Shikamaru's face went a little read. "I… Well…"

"You ok?" Asuma asked concerned staring straight at him. Shikamaru went a little redder and turned his head away from him. Asuma just stared at him confused and worried.

"Come on, Shikamaru. Just tell us," Kiba yelled. "My wrists are really starting to hurt."

"That's because you were pulling on your restraints trying to get free, you idiot," Sakura snapped.

Shikamaru looked down and closed his eyes.  _'There's got to be something else. ANYthing else.'_

"Hey, wasn't a week ago when we had that campout?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru looked up at her and simply nodded.

"But what does that have to do with this?" Lee asked.

"I know we talked about a lot of things, but the only think we mention about our senseis was…" Sakura's eyes went wide.

"Wait, you mean…" Kiba said then looked back at Shikamaru. "You've got to be kidding me! We were just joking around!"

Asuma turned to Kiba and raised an eyebrow. "And just what were you talking about?"

Sakura went red. "Kiba, you say anything and you're dead."

Kakashi and Kurenai both turned to look at Sakura. "Ok, now I'm curious," Kakashi said. Sakura just looked away from him.

"Ok, so we've got two red students, one shocked student, and…" Guy looked over at Lee, "… one confused student." He looked back at Kakashi. "I have a feeling they figured something out."

"I have not, Guy Sensei," Lee said still confused.

"Lee, think about it," Sakura said.

"Forget it, Sakura," Shikamaru said not looking up. "He didn't figure it out then. What makes you think he would now?"

"Hey, do not count me out yet!" Lee shouted. "When we spoke of our senseis, Ino was making fun of Shikamaru and Sakura, Kiba said he thought Kurenai Sensei was hot…"

"Hey!" Kiba shouted his face now turning red. Kurenai just looked at him.

"… and for some reason the girls were laughing when we were talking about Guy Sensei," Lee finished as if Kiba never spoke.

Kakashi looked down in thought. "So if we go off of what Lee said about Kurenai, and think about how Ino would tease Sakura and Shikamaru, as well as Lee…"

"Along with the way Sakura and Shikamaru reacted when they remembered the whole thing…" Kurenai added.

"Yes. Then the only conclusion I can come up with it…" Kakashi continued.

"They were talking about us in an inappropriate way," Asuma finished quietly.

The room went silent. "Like Kiba said, we were only joking around," Sakura finally spoke up quietly.

"Ok, but that still doesn't explain what it has to do with this situation," Guy said.

"You're not stupid, Guy," Shikamaru said quietly. "Think."

Guy opened his mouth to reply, but closed it as it finally hit.

"So that is why you were giggling," Lee said quietly finally figuring it out as well.

Asuma looked over to Shikamaru.  _'So that explains it.'_

"Well it's about time you all figured it out," their captor called out.

"You can't be serious," Guy shouted. "You don't honestly expect us to do  _that_!"

"I have watched all of you for quite some time, and I know for a fact that each of you is in love with the other."

"Yes, I do love Lee," Guy cried out. Everyone looked over at him shocked. "But as a son, not as a lover!" he replied quickly.

"Guy Sensei," Lee said with a smile. Guy just turned to him and smiled.

"They're our students," Kurenai said.

"Yes, but they are all chunin now and no longer under your tutelage," the guy replied.

"We won't do it!" Guy said firmly. "And you can't make us.

As soon as he said that, all four of the students started shouting. Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Guy all turned to them and saw that the restraints were digging deeper into their students' wrists, causing blood to flow down their arms.

"Stop!" Asuma yelled as he rushed forward to try and get the offending things off Shikamaru, but to no avail.

"You will entertain me!"

"Y-your sick," Kiba said panting.

"You have one hour to begin entertaining me. If you don't, well let's just say more than just their wrists will be bleeding." The pop once again sounded in the room and all four of the adults looked at each other.


	3. Tough Choice

The room was silent. No one had spoken since their captor confirmed what they feared. None of the adults could look at their students. They sat there staring at the ground or celling for thirty minutes, all of them trying to find some way out of this.

Asuma was looking at the ground, knee propped up and one arm draped over it. He was sitting in the corner of the force field again, across from Shikamaru, completely lost in thought.  _'He's with Temari. How can I do something like that to him? He may not admit it, but I know he loves her. Heck, I accidentally went by them when they were making out.'_  He sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back against the force field.  _'But this could be the only time.'_

When he heard shifting behind him, he turned and saw Kakashi walking towards Sakura.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?" Guy asked. Everyone was now staring at him.

He ignored him and stopped when he got in front of Sakura. "S-sens-sei?" Sakura stuttered nervously.

Kakashi pulled his mask down, which surprised Sakura, and leaned forward to capture her lips, his hand going behind her head. At first, Sakura was too shocked at what was happening, but slowly relaxed and started kissing him back.

Guy and Kurenai just looked at him with wide eyes, but Asuma looked away. "Kakashi, you can't be serious," Kurenai said.

Kakashi pulled away from the kiss, Sakura breathing a little heavy, and just stared into Sakura's eyes. "I don't want to see my student hurt," was all he said before he went in for another kiss, this time making it a little more forceful.

The others stayed quiet as they continued to watch the two, except for Asuma who had returned to his original position of eyes closed and head against the force field.

Kakashi ran his tongue over Sakura's bottom lip, asking for permission. Sakura was hesitant at first, but finally opened her mouth. Kakashi took the opportunity and started exploring her mouth.

Sakura let out a small moan.  _'Holy crap, is this really happening?'_

Kakashi moved closer to Sakura, making their bodies touch, as he reached around and put his hand on the small of her back. He slowly traced his hand up her back and back down going lower and squeezed her butt, making Sakura go wide eyed and let out a gasp, but never breaking their lip contact.

After a few more minutes, Kakashi broke the kiss and started kissing her jaw, slowly making his way to her right ear. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible," he whispered.

Sakura let out an unsteady breath and closed her eyes as Kakashi began kissing her neck. His hand making its way back up her back, but slipping his hand underneath her shirt so he could feel her skin.

Kurenai looked over to Kiba and saw that he was staring wide-eyed at Kakashi and Sakura.  _'Kakashi's right. Our captor made it very clear that if we didn't do anything, Kiba and the others will be hurt badly.'_

She stood up from her spot and walked over to Kiba, who was now looking at her. "Kurenai Sensei…" She cut him off when she placed her lips onto his.

Kiba wasn't as shy as Sakura was. He'd made out with a few girls, so after he got over the shock that he was kissing his sensei, he closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and his tongue started wrestling with hers.

Guy looked over to Kurenai whenever he heard her move and couldn't believe that she was also making out with her student. Asuma, however, remained completely still.

Kurenai moved closer to Kiba and deepened the kiss. She placed both hands on his chest and slowly moved them up eventually wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling them closer so that they were touching.  _'Holy crap, this is a dream come true,'_  Kiba thought as he smiled.

Kurenai pulled away from the kiss and looked into his eyes. "You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Kiba's smile just got wider. "Like I'd give up a chance to make out with my hot sensei."

Kurenai laughed and went in for another kiss, moving one of her hands up into his hair. Her other hand moved down to the bottom of his shirt and she slowly moved it up over his bare chest causing Kiba to take a sharp intake of breath. She pressed her pelvis closer to his and could feel the slight bulge that had started to form in Kiba's pants.

"Be a good boy and I'll make it worth your while," she said seductively after pulling away from the kiss. Kiba growled in excitement and leaned his head forward to capture her lips again.

Guy finally turned away and looked over to Asuma who still hadn't moved. "So what are you going to do, Asuma?"

Shikamaru looked away from Kurenai and Kiba, over to Guy, then down at Asuma waiting to hear his response, but it never came. Asuma never moved, never uttered a single word as if he never heard Guy's question at all.

When he got no reply from Asuma, he turned and looked over to Lee.  _'Well Kakashi and Kurenai have it easy. Both of their students are the opposite sex, but Lee…'_

"A-are you going to do that to me as well, Guy Sensei?" Lee asked a bit nervous.

Guy rubbed the back of his neck, his face going a little red at the thought of making out with his male student, his favorite student at that.  _'Well, at least it's Lee and not Neji.'_  He then walked over to Lee.

"G-Guy Sensei?"

"Kakashi's right, Lee. I don't want to see you get hurt." He looked over to one of Lee's wrists, the blood starting to dry, then back. "More than you already are that is."

Lee gulped and waited for Guy to make a move. Guy hesitated but slowly leaned his head and put his lips on Lee's. Lee's eyes went wide and his brows furrowed. He didn't move, didn't kiss back, he just stood there. When Guy pulled back, he saw his student's face scrunched up in disgust. "I do not think I like this, Guy Sensei," Lee said.

Guy frowned. "I don't like it either, Lee, but it's the only way to keep you safe." He looked down for a minute before looking up again. "Just think of it as another training exercise."

"Training?" Lee said confused.

"Yes. Think of it as me giving you a lesson on… uh… kissing and… uh…" he replied rubbing the back of his head.

"And sex?" Lee said when Guy didn't finish.

"Yeah."

Lee looked down to think about the idea. "Very well. I will do my best in this most uncomfortable training, Guy Sensei," Lee said with his usual energy, but when Guy started moving towards him again, he quickly became nervous again.

Guy placed his left hand on the wall next to Lee's head, grabbed the back of Lee's neck with his right, and dipped down to connect their lips once again.  _'I've never had gay sex before. I'm not entirely sure how to go about this.'_ But instead of worrying too much, he concentrated on the kiss and decided that he would go at it as if he were kissing a woman.

Shikamaru had watched the whole scene and was turning a bit pale.  _'Is that what Asuma is going to do to me?'_  He then looked over to the man in question and saw that he still hadn't moved.  _'Although it looks like he doesn't want to do it anymore than I do.'_

What Shikamaru didn't realize though, was that Asuma was actually struggling with the idea.  _'The only chance I'll ever get. Can I really do it now that I can? This isn't like that night.'_

**_Flashback_ **

**_Asuma walked down the empty streets in Konoha, not really going anywhere. He had to clear his head. He had helped Shikamaru this morning with a taijustu move that his student had been struggling with, and ever since then couldn't get the boy out of his mind._ **

**_Asuma had a secret that he has kept with him for a few years now, and this secret was only getting harder to keep the more time past._ ** **'** **Dang it, why did it have to be him?'**

**_Ever since he first met Shikamaru, he had become attracted to him. Every thing he said, the way he moved during training, even the way he complained, turned Asuma on, and the training they did that morning wasn't helping his situation at all._ **

**_The taijustu move that Shikamaru needed help on was actually a move to get out of an enemy's grip. So all morning, he was close to Shikamaru, trying his hardest not to get a hard on whenever the boy rubbed against him._ **

**_Asuma let out another frustrated sigh as he could feel himself getting hard just at the thought of that mornings event. "Dang it!"_ **

**_"_ ** **_Stupid Ten Ten."_ **

**_Asuma's eyes went wide. He knew that voice. It was the boy that was causing his little problem, and he could tell that he was heading straight for him. Asuma quickly moved into the nearest ally and watched as Shikamaru came around the corner._ **

**_"_ ** **_How the heck could she even think something like that? She, and Ino, both know that Asuma's just a close friend."_ **

**_Shikamaru was so caught up in his frustration that he didn't notice Asuma watching him. He balled up his fists that were in his pants pockets and just continued down the street, heading towards his house._ **

**_After he was out of sight, Asuma leaned back against the building he was next to._ ** **'** **Did they say he liked me as more than just a friend?'** **_He let out a slow breath. Just seeing Shikamaru made the bulge in his pants even worse. He closed his eyes and started rubbing it._ ** **'Dang it, not again.'**

**_He stood there moaning quietly as he rubbed his erection through his pants, but quickly took it out and started jerking off. He moved his hand slowly at first, but gradually got faster the more he thought about the young Nara._ **

**_His moaning was getting a little louder and he really hoped that no one would hear him. He didn't know if he'd be able to explain why he was jacking off in an ally way, and he definitely wouldn't be able to say that it was because he saw his male student pass him._ **

**_After a few more minutes, Asuma could feel that warm tingly feeling building up in his stomach and knew that he was close. His hand got faster and soon, a jet of white hot cum shot out and landed on the ground._ **

**_He stood there for a few minutes to calm down before placing member back in his pants and running back to his house._ ** **'** **I've really got to get this under control.'**

**_End of Flashback_ **

Asuma could feel himself getting hard at the memory of that day. He then looked up as he could feel someone staring at him. His eyes met with Shikamaru and the older man couldn't look away.  _'I finally have the opportunity that I've been wanting since I first met him.'_

Shikamaru stared into Asuma's eyes, unsure what his sensei was thinking, but something caught his eye. He looked down and saw that there was a bulge in Asuma's pants and he blushed.  _'It's only natural that Asuma would be turned on with all the noise in this room,'_  he told himself.  _'I mean it's starting to get to me a little.'_

Asuma saw that Shikamaru's eyes were no longer looking at his, but at his now very apparent erection bulging out of his pants. He closed his eyes, sighed, and got up and went over to his blushing student.

_'_ _I have to do it. If I don't, something worse is going to happen to him, and I'd never forgive myself if that happened.'_

When he stopped in front of Shikamaru, Asuma could tell that he was scared. Neither one said anything as they both just stared at each other. He heard Shikamaru's breathing was getting faster and felt a bit bad about what he was about to do.

"A-Asu…" Shikamaru began, but was cut off when Asuma planted a gentle kiss on his lips. Shikamaru tried to turn his head away, but Asuma just grabbed his chin and forced his head to stay still.

Asuma closed his eyes, fully enjoying Shikamaru's taste.  _'Man, it's so much better than I even imagined.'_ He ran his tongue over the slit in Shikamaru's two lips, pushing slightly to try and get it in, but Shikamaru was determined to keep his mouth shut. Asuma was even more determined as he squeezed Shikamaru's jaw. Shikamaru squeezed his eyes shut as he felt Asuma's tongue enter his mouth, the taste of Tabaco very evident.

As soon as his tongue slipped in, Asuma let out a soft moan. He moved one of his hands behind Shikamaru's head and deepened the kiss as his other hand went down Shikamaru's body. He began palming Shikamaru's erection through his pants and Shikamaru squeezed his eyes even more and let out a whimper.

Asuma finally pulled away from the kiss, but never stopped rubbing Shikamaru's hardening member. He leaned over so that he could speak to Shikamaru. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this, Shikamaru." Shikamaru's eyes went wide at Asuma's words and shiver ran through his body at the feel of Asuma's hot breath on his ear.

"Asuma, please stop. I-I don't like this at all," Shikamaru begged.

Asuma was now kissing Shikamaru's neck. "I can't. If he's not satisfied with what we do, he'll hurt you."

"But…" he began, but was cut off when Asuma squeezed his member.

Asuma smiled at Shikamaru's reaction.

Over with Kiba and Kurenai, Kiba was going wild. Kurenai had moved her hand inside Kiba's pants and was stroking his hard member. "Crap!" was all he could reply as he threw his head back, his eyes closed.

Kurenai smiled. "You enjoying this, Kiba?" Kiba responded by letting out another loud moan and bucked his hips. She leaned in closer. "Then you're gonna love this."

Kiba looked down at her after she removed her hand, giving a slight whimper, but smiled when he saw Kurenai kneel in front of him.

Kurenai unzipped Kiba's pants agonizingly slow making the younger boy shift in anticipation. She chuckled then finally got it down and pulled his member out.  _'Wow, he's bigger than I thought.'_ She held his stiff member in her hands for a few seconds then bent down and placed a soft kiss on the side of his member.

Kiba let out a hiss and threw his head back again as he felt her take him into her mouth. "Holy crap!"

Kurenai closed her eyes and swirled her tongue around Kiba's shaft, her head bobbing up and down, sucking as she did. Hearing Kiba's cries of pleasure was really turning her on. She moved her hand under her skirt and rubbed herself.

"Man, that's hot!" Kiba said when he saw her bobbing head, but didn't say anything else as a burning sensation started crawling up his body.  _'Oh man, I'm getting close.'_

Kurenai moaned herself, causing Kiba even more pleasure, as she continued rubbing herself. She had Kiba's entire member in her mouth, deep throating him, and used her other hand to grab his balls and squeezed them.

Kiba was bucking his hips by now, trying to get as much pleasure as he could. "Ahh, Kurenai, I'm so close!"

Kurenai's pace got faster. She could feel herself getting close as well. She pushed two fingers insider her wet hole, and pumped in time to her bobbing. She was driving them both crazy. With one final suck, Kiba cried out as he exploded in her mouth. Kurenai swallowed as much as she could, but was a bit surprised at how much he let out.

She pulled away, removing her fingers from her womanhood, and looked up and locked eyes with him. "Man, Kurenai, that was amazing."

She stood up, a little disappointed that she didn't get her release, and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Their tongues tangled and Kiba could taste himself. They deepened the kiss and Kurenai pressed herself against Kiba's already hardening member and rubbed herself against him.

After another minute, Kurenai stepped back enough so that she could slide her white shorts and underwear down.  _'I'm glad I decided to put those on instead of the bandages I usually put on. I guess oversleeping has it's advantages sometimes.'_ She pulled Kiba's pants down and helped him step out of them.

When both of them were naked from the waste down, she got close to him again, grabbed his hard member, and slid onto him.

Kiba's eyes were rolling back into his head. He had never felt the kind of pleasure Kurenai was currently giving him.  _'Man, I should've done this a long time ago. I knew older women were better.'_

Kurenai could feel her release coming. She broke off the kiss and was now moaning loudly, her eyes closed in pure ecstasy. She could feel Kiba thrusting into her as she moved her hips. She tangled her hands in his hair, trying to find a way to bring them closer.

Kiba was struggling against his restraints, desperately wanting to touch the beautiful woman in front of him. "Dang it!" He could already sense that he was about to cum for the second time. "Kurenai, ahhh, I-I'm gonna…"

"Me too," she said breathlessly. She quickened her pace, trying to get as much pleasure as she could, and with one final thrust, both of them hit their climax. She felt Kiba release his seed deep inside of her womanhood, moaning.

Neither one of them moved, not that Kiba really good. Kurenai stared into Kiba's eyes. "You're not too bad, dog boy."

"Well, it'd be even better if I weren't stuck to this wall," he replied with a smirk.

Just as he said that, the restraints on his wrists released. Kurenai quickly separated herself from him and took a step back. "Guess he heard you," she said as she finally got the chance to look at the half naked boy in front of her.

"Good," Kiba said and then walked toward her, removing the last of his clothing. He wrapped his hands around her, pulling her close. "Now I can show you how good I can be." Kurenai just smiled and went in for a kiss feeling her shirt being lifted up.

While all that was going on, Kakashi was fairly busy with Sakura himself. He had one hand up her shirt, massaging one of her breast underneath her bra, while the other hand was slowly rubbing the inside of her leg. He found the pulse on her neck and carefully sucked on the skin.

Sakura had her eyes closed, moaning and moving her hips to try and get closer to the hand that was teasing her. "Ahhh, Kakashi, please."

Kakashi smiled. "Please what, Sakura?" he teased.

"P-please," she said again and tried to move her hips closer again.

Kakashi chuckled and moved his hand over her pants and stared rubbing her. He heard her give out a loud moan, and moved closer to her ear. "Is this what you wanted?" Sakura only nodded. He started sucking on her earlobe, gently biting it before kissing her neck. He moved his mouth up and over her jaw and found her lips.

Kakashi slowly tracked the hand that was on her breast down her body, causing Sakura to let out a small shiver. When he got to her shorts, he used both hands to pull them down, taking her underwear with them, and quickly moved his hand back down and rubbed her clit, his other hand reaching behind her head to deepen the kiss.

Sakura cried out as she arched her back and was now moaning uncontrollably, straining against her restraints, wanting to run her hands through his hair. She could feel her body tingle, and her back arched again when he felt him insert one finger into her dripping hole.

Kakashi slowly pumped his finger in, feeling how tight she was.  _'Hmmm, a virgin. That means I need to be careful when I actually penetrate her.'_ He pulled away from her lips again and started kissing down her neck and over her collarbone. He pulled his hand out of her hair and slipped his hand back under her shirt, reaching around her back and unclasped her bra.

He then reached back around, lifted her shirt over her chest, and took her hard nipple in between his thumb and finger, pinching and twisting it. Sakura let out another moan. He moved his head down and took the other nipple into his mouth and began sucking on it. "Oh crap!" Sakura cried out and arched her back again.

He continued sucking and swirling her nipple with his tongue, pinching and twisting the other with his free hand, and added a second finger to her womanhood. He looked up to her face and saw that the second finger was causing her a bit of pain, but it quickly went back to a look of pleasure.

Sakura moved her hips in time with Kakashi's fingers, making them go deeper inside of her. "Ahhh, Kakashi!" she shouted as she threw her head back and closed her eyes. She felt something building up in her stomach, and knew that she was close.

Kakashi could tell that she was reaching her limit, and began pumping his fingers faster. He then left her chest and knelt down. He placed his free hand on her butt, squeezing and rubbing it, and moved his head forward to suck on her clit.

It wasn't much longer until Sakura finally reached her peak. "Ahhh, Kakashi!" Her cum flowed out of her and all over Kakashi's fingers, and he started lapping it up with his tongue. When he finished, he stood back up, stuck the cum covered fingers in his mouth, and sucked on them while he leaned in closer to a now red-faced Sakura.

"You taste good, Sakura," he said with a smile. Sakura turned her head, embarrassed of what just happened. Kakashi grabbed her chin and turned her head to look at him. "How did I never see how beautiful you were until now?" he asked, but never gave her the chance to answer as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Y-you really think so?" she asked when he pulled away. When her eyes met his, she looked down to avoid eye contact, but saw the good-sized bulge in his pants. Her face went even redder.

Kakashi looked down and chuckled. "You got me pretty excited. I helped you, now you have to help me out."

She looked back up at his face and stared into that one uncovered eye. "But I'm kind of stuck," she said, pulling at the restraints to prove her point.

Kakashi moved closer and positioned the clothed bulge right over her entrance. "There is another way." Sakura bit her lip nervously. "Don't worry, I'll go slow."

Sakura thought about it for a minute.  _'Well, it's not like we really have a choice anyway. That creep brought us here for this reason.'_ She closed her eyes and nodded. "Ok."

Kakashi stepped back, undid his pants, and pulled both his pants and boxers off. Sakura stared wide-eyed when Kakashi's member, which was a bout eight inches, was released from its containment and couldn't look away.  _'It's so big! There's no way that's going to fit.'_ He grabbed Sakura's legs and wrapped them around his waste.

"Kakashi," she said a bit scared. "That's not going to fit."

Kakashi laughed. "It will, but I'm afraid it will also hurt." Sakura gulped and watched as he moved his member closer to her entrance, but stopped and looked up to her face. "You ready."

Sakura nodded. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the pain when she saw the tip of his member disappear inside of her. She hissed in pain. "Kakashi, it hurts!"

Kakashi stopped and captured her lips. He brought one hand up to her breast, trying to distract her from the pain. It helped a little, and he continued pushing it in when he felt her relax a bit. "Sakura, try and relax. It'll help." Sakura nodded, but squeezed her eyes tighter as the pain flared up again.

Kakashi continued to stop and wait for her to calm down, and finally he was completely buried inside of her. "Crap, Sakura, you're so tight."

Sakura continued to pant, her head leaning on Kakashi's shoulder, waiting for the pain to subside.  _'Man, I never expected it to be that bad.'_

Kakashi waited until she was ready for him to move, kissing her neck and playing with one of her nipples. He could feel her relaxing, but waited until she moved her hips before slowly thrusting in and out. After a few minutes, Sakura was moaning and he thrusted faster.

Sakura was now crying out in pleasure. Kakashi smashed his lips onto hers, their tongues wrestling for domination and she pulled on her restraints again, wanting to wrap her arms around his neck.

Kakashi was moaning into her mouth, feeling himself getting closer and closer. He was going mad.  _'Dang, she feels so good.'_

"Kakashi, faster, please," Sakura called out, and he responded by speeding up his pace. He moved his hand from her breast and down to her butt and pulled her closer, going deeper.

Sakura threw her head back again and let out a loud cry as Kakashi finally hit her sweet spot. He was now pounding into her as hard as he could, continually hitting that spot over and over.

Hearing the slapping of their skin and the loud moans they were both letting out, sent both of them over. Kakashi could feel Sakura's walls clenching on his member as her orgasm rocked her body. It was all he could handle before he too found his release and spilled his seed deep inside her body.

The both breathed heavily, Kakashi not making any attempt to pull out, when they heard a snap. Sakura's hands flew around his neck. The both smiled at each other and Sakura was the one that leaned in to kiss him. They both got lost in the kiss, and Kakashi started moving his hips again.

Now Guy was lost in his own little world. He was kissing Lee deeply, his tongue roaming around his student's mouth, and palming Lee's very apparent bulge. He didn't pay any attention to the two couples that were going at it behind and beside him.  _'Am I actually enjoying this more than I thought I was?'_ he asked himself a little conflicted.

When he pulled away from the kiss, Lee took his chance to speak. "Guy Sensei, you seem to be enjoying this?"

"Actually, Lee, I think I am."

"Really?" Guy just nodded. "Uhh, then would it be ok if I said that I too am starting to enjoy this?"

Guy smiled. "Why don't we worry about that later," he said and looked down at Lee's waist.

"Is something wrong?" Lee asked concerned.

"Well, I'm just trying to figure out how to get your jumpsuit off," Guy said without thinking.

Lee's eyes went wide. "But why would you need to do that?"

Guy looked up into his student's eyes. "Well, I don't believe that the man that brought us here would be entertained enough with us just making out." He then glanced over to Kakashi and he could see that he was already deep inside Sakura. He then turned back to Lee. "I believe that he wants us to have sex."

"So you will have to… penetrate me?" Lee asked trying to get it straight.

"Yeah." He took a step back and examined Lee's jumpsuit. Because it's in one piece, there was no way to take it off. He then realized that he still had all his weapons. He pulled out a kunai and stepped closer to Lee.

"What are you going to do with that?" Lee asked. He trusted Guy, but seeing him coming toward him with the kunai made him a little uneasy.

"It's the only thing I can think of," Guy replied and then reached around and untied Lee's headband then grabbed the jumpsuit around Lee's waist and cut into it. He ripped it all the way around and the material just fell to the ground, leaving him in the top of the suit, his chunin vest, and his white underwear.

He then placed the kunai back in the pouch, took it off, along with his jonin vest, jumpsuit, and underwear, leaving him completely naked. Lee took one look at Guy's erection and blushed. "S-so you are going to penetrate me from behind?"

"Well, yes and no. Yes, it will be in your butthole, but seeing how I can't actually get behind you, I'll have to do it from the front," he said as he walked back up to his student.

"I see," was all Lee said. He watched as Guy pulled down his own underwear. "How will this work if you cannot get behind me?"

"Well," he began as he grabbed Lee's legs and wrapped them around his waist, "I'll do this, and then I can reach it."

"Oh. Will it hurt?"

"Yeah, for a little bit, but then it should feel good, I think."

"You think?"

"I've never really had sex with a guy before, so I don't entirely know how it works."

"I see."

Guy moved his member and started pushing it in to Lee's butthole. "Ahhh, it does hurt!" Lee cried out, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry, Lee. Man you're tight," he said as he continued to push himself into the tight hole.

"Ahhhh!"

Shikamaru looked over when he heard Lee scream. His eyes went wide when he saw Lee's face scrunched up in pain, and after Guy started thrusting in and out, he could see blood dripping from Lee's butt.  _'Is Asuma going to do that to me?!'_ He closed his eyes and let out a groan.

Asuma had already moved down to Shikamaru's member. He really didn't like it when Asuma removed his pants and boxers, and begged him not to touch it, but now Asuma was sucking on his member. He didn't like it, but he couldn't deny that it was starting to feel good. He hated this. He felt like he was betraying Temari.  _'I'm so sorry, Tem.'_

He looked over to Guy and Lee again and saw that Guy was now rubbing Lee's member in time to his thrusts. But again, Shikamaru turned away from them and let out another moan. He looked down and saw that Asuma was actually looking up at him while he continued to bob his head, licking and sucking as he did.

Shikamaru closed his eyes again. He couldn't stand to see the lust in Asuma's eyes. He knew Asuma was actually enjoying this.  _'Heck, he even said he's been wanting to do this to me for a while.'_  He tried as hard as he could to not make any sound. He didn't want to enjoy it like Asuma was, but Asuma was doing such a good job, that he couldn't help it.

Asuma moaned, and made Shikamaru cry out. He smiled at that and grabbed Shikamaru's balls. "Gah, Asuma!" Shikamaru cried out and arched his back, thrusting himself into Asuma's mouth even more.

It was the first time since he started that he actually made Shikamaru say anything.  _'But that will change very quickly. Sorry, Shikamaru, but I've been with several guys. I know what I'm doing.'_

Shikamaru was starting to breath heavily. He could feel the orgasm building up in his stomach.  _'No, I don't want to cum like this.'_  But there was nothing he could do. His arms were trapped on the wall, Asuma was giving an amazing blowjob, and his body was reacting to it.  _'Dang it. Temari, please forgive me.'_

Asuma heard Shikamaru cry out again and a stream of cum shot into his mouth. He closed his eyes and swallowed all of it, savoring the taste. He removed Shikamaru's member with a pop and stood up.

Shikamaru was looking away from him, eyes closed, and a deep blush on his face. Asuma grabbed his chin and turned his head to capture his lips again. Shikamaru could taste himself in Asuma's mouth, the taste of cigarettes gone.  _'Please, you had your taste, now stop.'_

Asuma pulled away from the kiss and started to undo his pants. Shikamaru looked down and watched as Asuma pulled both his pants and boxers off.  _'Holy crap! He's got to be a least nine inches!'_

Asuma saw the fear on Shikamaru's face and gently cupped his face and stared into his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll go easy."

"That's not gonna help. You're huge! It's gonna hurt one way or the other," he said staring back.

"Yes, it will hurt, but as long as I prepare you well enough in advance, it won't hurt as much."

"Lee's in a lot of pain."

Asuma looked over to Lee and saw the blood and cum dripping off of Lee's butt. His brow furrowed.  _'Dang it, Guy. You're suppose to stretch him first.'_  He turned back to Shikamaru. "Guy is an idiot. He's not gay, so he doesn't realize that he should've stretched him before entering him."

"Wait, so that means you are gay?"

"Yeah, have been for almost five years now. I was with Kurenai before that, but I'd always noticed that I never really felt anything for her, and while she is good looking, I never really got turned on by her or any other woman for that matter. But I swear, I never would've done this to you if it hadn't been for this situation."

"You wouldn't?"

"No. You're too important to me. I didn't want to do anything that would ruin our friendship. Besides, I knew you were in love with Temari, and I would never try to get in between the two of you."

Shikamaru gave him a small smile. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"However, we have to do this or something bad is going to happen to you." Shikamaru looked down again. "I just hope this won't affect our friendship."

Shikamaru was silent. He looked up at Asuma. "We have no choice. I don't want this to affect our friendship either, but promise this is the only time."

Asuma gave him a small smile. "If that's what you want. Now open your mouth."

Shikamaru looked at him confused. "Huh?"

"One reason Lee has that much blood coming out of his butt, is probably because Guy just entered him dry. That can cause a lot of pain, not to mention some damage. Lady Tsunade is not going to be very happy with him."

"Ok, but why do I have to open  _my_  mouth?"

"I could use mine, but I want to feel your tongue on my fingers."

Shikamaru gave him a disgusted look, but remembered that he feels the same way with Temari.  _'So it's true then. Gay men act pretty much the same way straight men do with women.'_  He closed his eyes and slowly opened his mouth.  _'But that doesn't mean I want to watch it.'_

Asuma smiled and placed three fingers into his mouth. He let out a small moan when he felt Shikamaru's lips wrap around them and his tongue lap and swirl around them. He then pulled them out and reached around Shikamaru's backside.

Shikamaru looked over to the wall and bit his lip when Asuma stuck a single finger into his butt. He looked over at Kiba and Kurenai and saw that they were getting pretty heated, and that he was free from the restraints.  _'When did he…'_ He was cut off from his thoughts and let out a hiss when Asuma pushed the second finger in.  _'Ok, that didn't feel too good.'_

Asuma thrust his two fingers in and out of Shikamaru, watching his face to make sure he wasn't hurting him to bad. He parted his fingers in a scissor motion to stretch him out. He could see the discomfort on Shikamaru's face, and placed a few kisses on his neck.  _'If I could just find his…'_  Shikamaru let out a cry.  _'Ah, found it.'_  He made sure to keep hitting that spot.

Asuma continued to kiss Shikamaru's neck and made his way up to one of Shikamaru's ears. He gently clamped down on his ear, and Shikamaru hissed. Since Shikamaru was distracted, he began pressing his third finger into Shikamaru's hole.

Shikamaru arched away from Asuma's fingers. "Asuma!"

"Shhh. I know it hurts, but it'll feel good I promise." He moved his other and down to Shikamaru's member and began stroking it. And it did. Shikamaru began moaning and thrusting himself into Asuma's hand. Asuma continued to thrust his three fingers in Shikamaru's butt, hitting his prostate, then pulled them out.

Shikamaru looked down at him when Asuma stopped nibbling on his ear, stroking his member, and pulled out his fingers. "Why did…"

"If I keep going, I'm gonna cum before I even get to do anything." He grabbed Shikamaru's legs and placed them around his waist. "I'll go slow still so you can adjust to my size."

Shikamaru blushed. "Th-thanks."

And with that, Asuma began pushing himself into the beautiful boy in front of him. "Wow, you're tight," he said as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, but stopped his movements when he heard Shikamaru's gasp of pain. He looked at the boys face and saw it scrunched in pain, and began his movements to pleasure other parts of his body to distract the boy.

When Shikamaru relaxed a bit, Asuma resumed pushing himself in. "Asuma, it hurts!" Shikamaru cried out. Again Asuma stopped and let Shikamaru adjust to his size. He did this a couple more times before he was full inside the boy. "Asuma."

"I'm in," he said quietly in his ear. He continued stroking Shikamaru's member.

 _'_ _Is this how Temari felt when I first penetrated her?'_  Thinking about Temari, however, made him feel even more guilty about what was happening.  _'Ok, I need to stop thinking about her right now. Although, it might help if I thought… No, that would just hurt Asuma.'_ Shikamaru was now conflicted and it showed on his face.

"What's wrong?" Asuma asked concerned.

"Nothing. I-I think I'm ok now."

Asuma nodded and almost pulled all the way out before thrusting back in. He saw Shikamaru's head go back as he let out a loud moan, and it only encouraged him to keep going. Soon he was going at a pretty good pace. "Ahh, Shikamaru, you feel so good."

Shikamaru could barely hear what Asuma was saying. Whether he liked it or not, what Asuma was doing to him felt amazing. So amazing, in fact, that everything else was becoming a blur. "A-A-Asu-ma," he moaned out.

When he heard his name, Asuma let out a moan as well and started moving even faster and harder, moving his hand on Shikamaru's member faster as well. Eventually, he had Shikamaru screaming.

"A-Asuma, I-I'm gonna…" Shikamaru cried out as he reached his climax.

"Oh, crap," Asuma said when he felt Shikamaru's walls clenching against his member, and he too reached his climax and released his seed deep inside Shikamaru.

After their orgasms ended, Asuma pulled out. The restraints on Shikamaru's wrist released, and Shikamaru began to fall forward because his legs were weak from the powerful orgasm.

Asuma quickly caught the boy and lowered himself on the ground and pulled Shikamaru into his lap, gently rubbing under Shikamaru's shirt as well as in between his legs.

"Th-that felt… great," Shikamaru panted and leaned back onto Asuma's chest.

Asuma chuckled. "I agree."

"But… why did… that guy… let me go?"

"Maybe he decided that it was good enough for him." Asuma then heard Sakura and Kurenai cry out their partner's names and looked over his shoulder. "Or, maybe because he knows that we're in the mood enough to continue and he didn't want anything getting in the way."

Shikamaru nodded. Finally catching his breath, he looked up. "So, are we going to do it again?"

"Ahhh, Guy Sensei!"

Asuma and Shikamaru looked over and saw Lee, now completely naked, on his hands and knees with Guy thrusting as hard as he could into him. They then turned back to look at each other.

"Do you want to?" Asuma asked raising an eyebrow.

Shikamaru looked away and blushed. "Kind of."

Asuma smiled and wrapped his arms tighter around the boy he loved. He then removed the rest of their clothes, pushed Shikamaru off of him and onto the ground, and got on top of him and passionately kissed him.

All four couples were now in the heat of the moment. None of them thought about the others around, just about the people they were with, and after another hour of love making, they were all laying on the ground tangled in their lover's arms.

Kakashi and Sakura were the first to start getting dressed, and eventually the others followed suit. Kiba and Kurenai were the first to get dressed, since both of them were use to what they did, although Kurenai had to admit that Kiba did make her a little sore. Sakura and Lee were sore and were having trouble moving, so Kakashi and Guy helped them. Shikamaru, however, had fallen asleep and Asuma dressed himself and then dressed Shikamaru.

Once they were fully dressed, one by one the couples in the room disappeared.


	4. Consequences

Kakashi looked around and saw that he was back at the training field they were in before they were whisked away from the village. Naruto was no longer there, but his eyes fell on Sakura who was struggling to stay standing. He quickly scooped her up and held her bridle style.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi started walking away from the training ground. "You looked like you were about to fall," was all he said.

"I can walk," Sakura protested sternly.

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "Oh really?" he questioned.

Sakura leaned against Kakashi's chest. She felt how exhausted she was, and knew he was right. "Alright, fine."

"So, your place or mine," he said not even looking at her.

Sakura blushed. "Better go back to yours. I don't think my parents would like it if they saw us like this and found out what we did."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask and looked down at her. "Sounds good to me." He took to the rooftops so that no one stopped them and asked why he was carrying her.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba and Kurenai looked around and saw they were back where they started. "Ok? That was it? We had sex for over an hour and then he just let us go, no questions asked?" Kiba asked very confused.

"I guess he got his fill and was done with us," Kurenai replied.

"You know, it's a little disturbing now that I think of it." Kurenai looked at him questionably. "I mean about being watched. The sex was great."

Kurenai laughed. "Yeah, I have to agree on both."

"Do you think he recorded us?"

Kurenai furrowed her brow. "Probably. Why would he make us do all that and then not keep it to re-watch when he wants to get off again?"

Kiba shivered. "Man, I don't even want to think about it." They were silent for a few minutes, neither one looking at the other. "So, you think Shino and Hinata are worried about us?"

"Oh, I'm sure they are."

Silence again.  _'Man, this is awkward,'_  Kiba thought.  _'That was the best sex of my life, but what do we do now?'_  He looked over at Kurenai who was focusing on something in the distance.  _'Does this mean we're together now, or do we just go our separate ways and act like it never happened?'_ "Uhhhh, Kurenai Sensei?"

She looked over at him. "Hmmm?"

"What now?"

"I don't know."

Kiba looked down then back up with a smirk. "Wanna go back to your place and do it again?"

Kurenai smiled, grabbed his hand, and drug him off toward her house.

NNNNNNNNNNN

"What happened?" Lee asked as he looked around at the training field he was in.

"I think he let us go," Guy replied stating the obvious.

Lee nodded and looked over to Guy. "I do not see Neji or Ten Ten."

"Well it has been about two hours since we were taken from the village. They probably went to tell Lady Tsunade and then went home."

"That makes since. I guess we should do the same," Lee said and took a step, but fell forward letting out a groan.

"Lee!" Guy said as he reached out and caught Lee's arm and wrapped it around his neck to support his sore student. "Are you ok?"

"I guess it hurt more than I expected," Lee said as he leaned on Guy.

"I guess all the training you've done up 'til now didn't really help prepare you for that. I'll help you home."

"Thank you, Guy Sensei." They headed for Lee's apartment.

NNNNNNNNNNN

A knock on the door stopped Tsunade's writing and she looked up. "Come."

The door opened and Shikaku walked in. "Forgive me, Ma'am, but has there been any word?"

Tsunade sighed, sat her pencil down, and motioned for him to come in. She could see the worry on his face, and she didn't blame him. She was worried about all of her missing shinobi. "No, I'm afraid not."

Shikaku looked down disappointed. "We have no idea who took them, where they are, and if they're even still alive, and nothing we can do about it."

Tsunade nodded and the room when silent, but they both looked up when they sensed someone else in the room. What they saw surprised them both. Asuma was sitting in the middle of the room with Shikamaru lying next to him still asleep.

"Shikamaru!" Shikaku said and walked over to his son. Tsunade also walked over to them.

"What happened," she asked as she knelt down next to Shikamaru, her chakra glowing as she checked him out.

"Uhh… well you see…" Asuma said as he rubbed the back of his head. He couldn't figure out how to tell her, especially with Shikaku right there.

"Asuma, what happened to Shikamaru?" Shikaku said raising his voice.

"Calm down, Shikaku. He's only sleeping," Tsunade said, but then furrowed her brow when she got closer to his pelvis.

"What?" Shikaku asked worried at the look on her face.

Tsunade ignored him and turned to Asuma who was now standing. "What happened, Asuma? Were the others with you too?"

"Uhh, yeah, they were. We were all transported to a large room. It had no doors or windows," Asuma replied ignoring the first question.

"But why is Shikamaru laying here sound asleep. The only time I ever see him this deep in sleep is when he's really exhausted," Shikaku said as he stood and faced him.

Asuma looked away.  _'Why did Shikaku have to be in the room when we got back? If it was just Lady Tsunade, this wouldn't have been so hard.'_

"Asuma, I want an answer," Tsunade said sternly.

"Well, the man that transported us there wanted entertainment."

"What kind of entertainment?" Tsunade pressed.

Asuma looked over at Shikaku nervously then back at Tsunade. "He… uh… well… he wanted us to have sex with each other." Asuma was now red and looking away from both of them.

Tsunade and Shikaku stared at him completely shocked. "What?" Shikaku questioned.

"He separated us into four groups with a force field and chained Shikamaru and the other students to the walls."

Shikaku clenched his fists. "And was it you that did it?" he asked dangerously.

Asuma nodded, but quickly threw up his hands and took a step back as Shikaku came forward. "It was necessary!" he shouted as he closed his eyes and waited for the punch he saw Shikaku throwing at him.

Shikaku's fist collided with the side of Asuma's nose and sent the man flying back into the wall. "What do you mean necessary?!"

"Shikaku!" Shikaku stopped his advance on Asuma and turned to look at Tsunade. "Why don't we let Asuma try to explain himself before you beat him into a bloody pulp."

Shikaku turned back to glare at Asuma. "Fine, but if I don't like what I hear…" He left the threat dangling in the air.

Asuma wiped the blood from his nose and stared up at them, not moving from his position on the floor. "After the guy chained the students to the wall, he started going on about how he had been watching the eight of us for a while and that he brought us there to entertain him. At first we were confused. We couldn't figure out why he would chain the students to the wall when he wanted us to fight each other, but he said fighting is not the entertainment he wanted. He never outright said what he wanted until fifteen to twenty minutes later when he spoke up again, giving us a hint at what he wanted, and after we finally figured it out, he said that if we didn't do it, he'd hurt the kids more."

"More?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah, after we told him that we weren't going to have sex with our students, the restrains on their wrists tightened causing those cuts you see on his wrists."

Tsunade and Shikaku both looked back and saw the cuts and the dried blood on Shikamaru's wrists then looked back at Asuma. "So what did he say he would do if you didn't do it?" Shikaku asked crossing his arms.

Asuma looked straight at Shikaku. "He never went into detail, but he said if we didn't do it, then more than just their wrists would be bleeding. He gave us an hour to decide."

"And so the four of you had sex with your respective students," Tsunade stated more than asked.

"Yes, but it was about a half hour before we even considered it. No one spoke, no one moved until Kakashi reminded us that the kids were more important than our prides. I swear, Shikaku, I'd never touch him like that if it wasn't necessary."

The room went quiet as Tsunade and Shikaku took in what Asuma said. Then Shikaku turned, went to his son, carefully picked him up, and carried him toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"To the hospital. I want to make sure he didn't hurt him or give him anything," Shikaku said when he stopped in the doorway and looked at her. Tsunade only nodded.

"I don't have anything," Asuma said quietly.

"I'll let the hospital be the judge of that." Shikakau turned back around and continued to the hospital.

Tsunade finally turned to Asuma. "I understand that you had no choice, however, the fact is you raped him." Asuma looked down. "Shikaku has the right to press charges on you in his behave since Shikamaru is still underage."

"I understand," he replied quietly.

"Good, now get out of my office." She turned and started walking back to her desk as Asuma stood up and walked to the door. "Oh, and Asuma," she said. He stopped and looked at him. "I suggest you stay away from him for the time being."

"Yes ma'am," he said sadly and left the room.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and took in his surrounding.  _'A hospital?'_

"Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru turned toward the voice and saw his dad staring at him concerned. "Dad?" He looked around the room. "Where's Asuma?"

Shikaku frowned. "I don't know, and right now, I don't really care."

Shikamaru looked back at his dad and tried to sit up, but took in a sharp breath. Shikaku placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down. "No, don't try to move yet."

When the pain subsided, he looked back up at his dad. "How did I get here?"

"You and Asuma just appeared out of no where in Tsunade's office. After we heard what had happened, I brought you here."

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "Everything that happened?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Asuma won't be coming around you for a while," he said as he sat back down in the chair next to the bed.

"Why not?"

"Why would you want him to? He hurt you, son."

"I don't care! He had no choice. Yeah I didn't really like it, but if he didn't…"

"I know. Asuma said the man who captured you would hurt you if he didn't do it, but still the fact is that he did."

"You have no right to say that," Shikamaru said angrily. "Asuma's one of my close friends. I'm not just gonna cut that tie with him because he had sex with me."

"He raped you, Shikamaru. That's not something you just ignore."

Shikamaru looked away from him. "I want to see him."

Shikaku's eyes went wide. "What?"

Shikamaru snapped his head back to his father. "I said, I want to see him. I need to talk with him. Alone."

"I'm not going to leave you alone with him," Shikaku said standing up.

"He won't hurt me."

The two stared at each other for a few minutes before Shikaku turned and started walking toward the door. "Fine, but I'm going to be right outside the door."

Shikamaru relaxed and watched his father leave.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

"I'm coming in, Ma'am," Shizune called out as she opened the door and walked in.

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. "Yes, what is it, Shizune."

"When Shikaku brought Shikamaru in asking for tests, I preformed them myself."

"Yes, and?"

Shizune handed over a sheet of paper. "There is a result that is a little concerning.

Tsunade took the paper and looked over it. "Is it an STD?"

"No ma'am."

Tsunade's eyes went wide when she saw the result Shizune was talking about. She then stood up and hurried to the door. "I want to confirm these results for myself."

"Yes ma'am," Shizune called out as she followed her out the door and to the hospital.

After confirming the results, she looked over at Shizune. "I want Kiba, Sakura, and Lee brought here immediately."

"Yes ma'am," Shizune cried out and quickly left the room.

Tsunade headed to Shikamaru's room and saw Shikaku leaning outside his door not looking too happy. "Shikaku, what are you doing out here? And have you even told Yoshino about this yet?"

Shikaku straightened up. "Shikamaru wanted to talk to Asuma, and there's no way I'm leaving him alone. As for Yoshino, no, I haven't been home yet."

"Does she even know he was missing?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so. I saw Temari heading in the direction of our house, so I assume she would've told her."

Tsunade sighed. "Go and let both of them know that he is back. They'll want to see him."

"Yes ma'am," Shikaku said and watched her go in Shikamaru's room, a look of concern on his face, before he left.

When they heard the door open, Asuma and Shikamaru's conversation stopped and looked at the new arrival. Asuma immediately stood up and put his hands up when he saw an aggravated Tsunade walking toward him. "Shikaku said I could come in here, and…"

"I know. That's not why I'm here," Tsunade interrupted him. Asuma relaxed and lowered his arms. "Shikamaru, were you ever injected with anything?"

Shikamaru looked uncomfortable. "Uhhh…"

"I'm not talking about when you had sex. Was there any other time?"

"The only other thing was the cuts on my wrists, but Shizune healed those while I was out," Shikamaru replied.

Tsunade put a hand up to her chin and looked down. "Then how did it get in him?" she asked herself quietly.

"How did what get in him?" Asuma asked confused.

She looked back up at them. "When Shizune did the tests, there was a result that we don't much care for."

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked a bit worried.

"We don't know. It's some kind of… serum I guess you could call it, or maybe a drug that we don't know about, but the point is, we have absolutely no idea what it is, if it's dangerous, or how to counter it."

Shikamaru's face went pale. Asuma looked down at Shikamaru then back up to Tsunade. "Is he any danger now?"

"No, not as far as I can tell. Right now it's just running through his veins."

The door opened and Shizune rushed it. "Ma'am, Kiba, Sakura, and Lee are all waiting for you in the room across the hall."

"Did you treat any of the cuts?" she replied turning to her.

"No, I figured you would want to look at them. Although, Sakura healed her own, so she no longer has them."

"Alright, bring them in here."

"Yes ma'am," she said and left.

Tsunade turned back to Asuma and Shikamaru. "We're going to see if the others have any kind of marks that Shizune might have missed on you."

Shikamaru nodded and looked up to the door when it opened and Kiba, Sakura, and Lee walked in with Shizune bringing up the rear.

"My Lady, what's this about?" Sakura asked.

"I want to examine the cuts that the three of you receive turning your capture, and yes," she said before Sakura could speak, "I'm aware that you already healed them yourself. Did you see anything other than cuts?"

"No ma'am. There were only two cuts on each wrist."

"Kiba, Lee, let me see your wrists," she ordered. They both responded immediately by holding out both wrists for her to examine.  _'Kiba has only the two cuts just like Sakura had, and Lee… Wait, what's…'_  On Lee's left wrist, there was a tiny hole, no bigger than a pinhead, in between the two cuts. She grabbed his wrist and brought it up closer to examine it better.  _'A needle entrance.'_

"Is something wrong?" Lee asked.

"Shizune, get a blood sample from Lee and get it tested right away, and do the same to the others just to be on the safe side."

"Yes ma'am." She then left to go get the syringes.

"What's going on?" Kiba demanded.

"I would also like to know," Lee agreed.

"We did a few tests on Shikamaru and found an unknown serum running through his veins."

"Unknown?" Sakura asked. "But I thought you knew all the serums and drugs created?"

"Well I'm afraid this is one I've never seen before," Tsunade replied.

Just then Shizune came in with the syringes and called Lee over first. "Ok, I'm going to take a blood sample now." Lee nodded, and Shizune stuck the needle in his arm and the vile filled up with the red liquid. She did the same to Kiba and Sakura, then left to go test the samples.

"We should get the results quickly. Stay here until we do," Tsunade said and left to go oversee the tests.

"Do you think we have this serum running through our veins too?" Lee asked.

"I don't know," Sakura replied. "But I think you will for sure."

The others in the room all looked at her. "What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"Well, Lady Tsunade only grabbed Lee's wrist when she looked at the both or yours. She found something that wasn't on Kiba."

The room went quiet and nobody said a word, but the silence was broke when the door swung open.

"Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru looked up and smiled when he saw Temari rushing toward him. "Hey, Tem."

She slowed herself when she saw all the others and sat down on his bed and looked at him. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Asuma looked up and saw Shikaku and Yoshino walking toward the bed. He moved over to the others to give them some room.

"I'm fine. Just a little sore."

"Why?" Yoshino asked.

"Uhhh, just something our captor made us do," he said looking away from them. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Temari leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. "As long as your ok," she said smiling.

"I am. Don't worry."

"Yeah, for the most part that is," Kiba blurted out.

"Kiba, shut it!" Shikamaru gave him a glare.

"What? They're gonna find out as soon as Lady Tsunade returns anyway. Oww!" Kiba turned to Sakura who had hit him on the head.

"You idiot," she said. "Maybe he wanted to tell them in his on time, did you ever think of that."

"Well now that it's out there, just what are you talking about," Shikaku asked crossing his arms.

Everyone looked over at Shikamaru and he let out a sigh. "How troublesome. Tsunade found an unknown serum running through my veins," he explained, but when he saw Temari and his parent's eyes go wide, he quickly continued. "She said it's nothing dangerous at the moment, but she has no idea what it is or what it's doing to me."

"Yeah, and she and Shizune are testing our blood to see if we have this serum too," Sakura added.

Temari looked at him concerned. "So what is she going to do about it?"

"She has no idea," Shikamaru answered.

"If we don't know what a drug or serum is, we take precautions and run several test to see how it's made and if we can find some kind of antidote," Sakura explained.

The room again went silent. Temari moved closer to Shikamaru and grabbed his hand and Yoshino took a seat in the chair that was next to the bed, but other than that, everyone in the room stayed where they were.

After a few more minutes, Tsunade came back in. "Well, I've got some good new and bad news. The good news is, Kiba and Sakura, you two don't have the serum running through your veins, but Lee…"

"The serum is present in me as well, isn't it?" Lee said dejectedly.

"I'm afraid so. We are trying to separate the serum from both Shikamaru and Lee's sample and begin analyzing it. Until then, I don't want either one of you to leave this village and to take it easy for the next two weeks."

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

"It could be that the serum just hasn't taken effect yet. I want to be careful. You two will be removed from the mission roster during that time, and," she looked at Lee, "you will hold back on training."

"What?" Lee said sounding horrified.

"We don't know if doing too much will be harmful yet. These are merely precautions." She turned to Shikamaru. "You may go home after this, and I'm sure I can count on you not to over do it."

"Psh, he's probably glad he gets to be lazy," Temari joked.

Shikamaru gave her an annoyed look. "Troublesome woman."

"I have nothing more to say. Shikamaru, Lee, I will see you in two weeks unless something happens before then."

Shikamaru and Lee both nodded, then everyone in the room left, all going their separate ways.

Shikamaru walked alone with Temari to the front gate hand in hand. Neither one of them spoke until they got there. "Are you going to be ok?" Temari asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm sure mom and dad's going to be watching me like a hawk." He leaned forward and kissed her. "Be careful on your way back."

Temari just wrapped her arms round his neck. "Let me know if anything happens, and write me if you find anything out in two weeks. Actually, no I'll just come back in two weeks."

"Troublesome woman. You don't have to do that." Temari glared at him and smacked him on the arm. "Owww," he said rubbing his now sore arm.

"Fine! Then forget it!" she yelled and started storming out of the village, but Shikamaru grabbed her wrist. "Let go!"

"Will you calm down," he said letting go. "I'm just saying you don't have to make a special trip. I'll write you and let you know if I find anything out, but I don't think anything's going to happen so you don't need to waste your time." Temari lifted her hand again, but Shikamaru grabbed it. "But if you want to come back, then you can." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "I've missed you and I guess we could just spend time together."

Temari laid her head on his chest. "I'll ask Gaara for some time off. I've got enough down time built up that it should be fine."

Shikamaru smiled, lifted her chin, and planted one more kiss on her lips. "Then I'll see you in two weeks."

Temari smiled back at him, then turned and started running out of the village.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Two weeks later, Shikamaru and Lee were sitting in the same room talking about nothing when Tsunade walked in. "Alright, I'm just going to do a quick physical on both of you and if everything's normal I'll put you back on the mission roster."

"Yes!" Lee said excited. Shikamaru just nodded.

Tsunade started with Lee first. She used her medical ninjutsu and checked his internal organs. She started at the top but stopped when she got to his stomach. "What the…"

Lee looked at concerned. "Is something wrong, Ma'am?"

Tsunade ignored him and concentrated on focusing her chakra. "No, that's impossible." She moved over to Shikamaru and checked his stomach. Her brow furrowed even more. "Have either one of you felt nauseous or dizzy lately?"

"No," the both said at the same time.

"It's got to be something else," she said more to herself than to them.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade again ignored the question and pulled two beakers out of her pocket. "Alright, I'm going to need urine samples."

Both boys nervously took a beaker. Lee went into the bathroom first, then Shikamaru. They both handed her the samples and she left without saying another word.

"What do you think that was about?" Lee asked.

"No clue, but whatever it is, something's not right," Shikamaru replied.

They went back to talking about nothing in particular until Tsunade returned.

As Tsunade was returning to their room, she saw Sakura and Kurenai walking down the hall. "Kurenai, what brings you here?"

"Uh, well, Sakura actually asked me to come here," Kurenai replied.

Tsunade looked over to her pupil. "Well?"

"It's been two week since we were captured. I was starting to feel sick, and I realized that I had absolutely no protection that day. So I bought a home pregnancy test."

"And?"

"It came back positive," Sakura said nervously.

Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed. She then looked at Kurenai. "And what about you?"

"Well, I met Sakura as she was heading here. She said she was going to do a more accurate test, and asked me to come along. I told her I was heading here too, so I agreed."

"Did you take a home pregnancy test too?"

"No, but I am a week and a half late, so I asked her to do a test for me too." Tsunade just stared at her waiting for her to continue. "I'm pregnant too."

Tsunade let out another long sigh. "Great, just perfect."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but there wasn't really anything we could've done," Sakura said lowering her head.

"Oh no, I'm not mad."

"You're not," Sakura asked a little surprised.

"No, it's just that whole vanishing situation is really starting to cause a problem now."

"How so?" Kurenai asked.

"Come with me," she said and continued down the hall. She saw a random shinobi walking past with his arm in a sling and stopped him. "I need you to bring Shikaku, Asuma, and Guy here for me immediately."

"Yes ma'am." The shinobi saluted and ran off to find the three people she mentioned.

She shook her head and stepped into Shikamaru and Lee's room. The boys were surprised to see Sakura and Kurenai with her.

"Hey guys," Sakura said.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" Lee asked.

"Uhh, just some personal stuff," she said and walked over to the second bed and sat down. Kurenai followed her lead. "So why do you need Shikaku, Asuma, and Guy here, My Lady?"

"Dad and Asuma?" Shikamaru asked.

"Guy Sensei?" Lee asked.

"I'll explain when they arrive. Sakura, there was something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yes My Lady?"

"I've noticed you and Kakashi together a lot lately. Are you two a couple now?"

Sakura blushed and looked to the others before looking back at Tsunade. "Uhh, yeah. After the incident, are feelings for each other grew."

"I see. Thank you for telling me."

Sakura and Shikamaru then got into a conversation about something that happened two days ago with Ino, and Lee just listened in, commenting when he felt it was right.

Kurenai got up from her seat on the bed and went over to Tsunade. "Ma'am, could I speak to you?"

"Of coarse," she replied and motioned to the door.

Once they were out the door, Kurenai spoke up. "I've been trying to figure out how to approach you about this for a few days now."

"Go on," Tsunade encouraged.

"Well, you see, Kiba and I are sort of together now too."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"It's like Sakura and Kakashi, after the incident, Kiba and I got closer, and well…"

 _'_ _This day is just full of surprises.'_  "Thank you for letting me know."

"You're ok with it?"

"Kiba may be underage, but technically he became an adult when he became a genin, and since he's technically no longer your student, it's fine, as long as it didn't start when he was your student."

"No," Kurenai denied quickly. "It only happened after the incident."

"Good." She looked up and saw Shikaku, Asuma, and Guy coming down the hall.

Guy rushed up to her. "Tell me Lee's ok," he asked desperately.

"Both Shikamaru and Lee are fine, but we do have a slight problem," Tsunade replied.

"Problem," the three said at the same time.

Tsunade opened the door and held it open. "Please, I'll explain inside."

The three men entered the room followed by Kurenai and Tsunade.

"Guy Sensei," Lee called out and walked up to him.

Shikaku and Asuma went over to Shikamaru's side.  _'At least they're getting along again.'_

Kurenai returned to her seat on the bed, and Tsunade began. "Alright, so I had you three come in because I found something very disturbing in the check up I did for Shikamaru and Lee."

"But you said they were ok?" Guy interrupted. Tsunade glared at him and shut him up. "Sorry."

"Now as I was saying, I triple checked the results and all three times came back the same." She looked over to Lee and then to Shikamaru. "I'm not going to sugar coat this, so I'm going to come right out and say it. Both of you are pregnant."

The room went dead silent.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I heard you correctly," Guy said.

"No, you heard me. For the first time in history, we have two cases of male pregnancy."

Sakura and Kurenai looked at each other. "So, the four of us," Sakura began indicating Kurenai, Shikamaru, Lee, and herself, "as a result from that incident, all got pregnant from the guys that we had sex with?"

"That's what it looks like," Tsunade confirmed.

"Man, what a drag."


	5. The Meeting

It had been three days since Tsunade told him he was pregnant, and now Shikamaru was leaning against the front gate of the village, not very happy.  _'Dang it, why did it have to be me that tells him? Why can't she just tell him when he goes to report on how his mission was?'_

He sighed and looked up to the sky, staring at the clouds passing by overhead, but when he heard voices coming toward him, he looked over and saw Kakashi and Temari talking.

When Kakashi and Temari reached him, they both saw the surprised look on his face. "What's with the face, lazy," Temari joked as she walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed him. "Didn't the Hokage tell you I was coming?"

"Tch. No. Troublesome woman," Shikamaru replied.

"Well, anyway, you should've realized I'd show up eventually. Remember, I said I was going to ask Gaara for some time off?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind. I guess it slipped my mind," he said looking away.

"Well, I see how much you care," Temari replied jokingly. "So, if you didn't know I was coming, why are you waiting at the gate?"

"Troublesome woman," he replied. "I was actually waiting for Kakashi."

"Oh?" Kakashi replied.

"Yeah, Lady Tsunade has called a meeting, but since you were currently on a mission, we had to wait for you to get back. She'll probably mention it when you report in, which is why I didn't understand why she had me waiting at the gate for you, but I guess it was her way of saying Temari was coming too, but she could've told me," he said the last bit annoyed.

"Oh, ok. Then I'll leave you two lovebirds and head to Lady Tsunade's office. See you in a while," he said with a smile and disappeared.

Shikamaru stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking away from the gate, Temari following.

"Wait, so what's the meeting about? Or is it village related?" Temari asked.

"No, it's a meeting with the eight of us that disappeared and our families," Shikamaru replied.

"Why, is there something wrong?" Temari asked concerned.

Shikamaru stopped and looked at her. "Uh, well…" he began.  _'Oh man, how do I tell her I'm pregnant with Asuma's kid?'_

"Shikamaru?" she asked a bit worried when he looked away from her. She grabbed his chin and made him look at her again. "What's going on? Does it have something to do with that unknown serum running through your veins?"

He mentally slapped himself.  _'Right, duh, how did it not click? That's probably why Tsunade didn't mention how this was even possible. Wow, this whole troublesome situation is getting to me.'_  Temari was still looking at him concerned. "Actually, yeah, it does."

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

He looked away again.  _'What if she gets mad? Heck, she'll get mad if I don't tell her.'_  "What a drag," he said quietly.

"Oh, so it's too much of a drag to tell your girlfriend what's wrong with you?" Temari snapped.

Shikamaru shot his head up and put up his hands. "No, that's not what I meant." He lowered his hands and stared at her.  _'Well, here goes nothing.'_ "Do you remember how I got this serum problem in the first place?"

"No, you wouldn't tell me," she said crossing her arms.

"Well, it was injected into my body, we think, when I was chained to the wall."

Temari lowered her arms and looked at him with a more calm expression. "Ok? So why were you chained to a wall?"

"Uhh, well, the guy that captured us made us do something that… Well, was…"  _'Dang it. Why is this so hard?'_ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He made us have sex and now I'm pregnant with Asuma's kid," he said quickly.

Temari stared at him. "W-what?"

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and looked away again. "He chained me to the wall and threatened to hurt me pretty bad if Asuma didn't have sex with me." His face was now red.

Temari turned around and took a few steps away from him. Shikamaru looked up at her. "So, you…" She didn't know what to say.

"It didn't mean anything," Shikamaru said as he walked up to her and turned her to look at him, both hands on her shoulders. "He had to do it, or I probably wouldn't be here right now."

She looked up to him, hurt in her eyes, and then looked down at his stomach. "So, because of that serum…"

"Yeah," he said lowering his arms. "We found out three days ago when Tsunade gave us our check up."

"Our?" she asked looking back up at him. "You mean you and Lee?"

"Yeah. He's in the same situation as me. And Sakura and Kurenai said they were pregnant because of that incident too, which is why we have that meeting. Tsunade said we would discuss what we do about all this then."

Both of them were quiet, then Temari grabbed him in a hug. "Then I'm coming with you."

Shikamaru pushed back to look at her. "Why?"

She slapped him on the arm. "Because, you idiot, I'm your girlfriend, and whatever happens in this meeting is going to effect me too."

"Alright, alright," he said as he rubbed his arm. He grabbed her hand and led her to the meeting room.

"Wait, why are we going there now? Didn't you say it would be later today?" Temari asked confused.

"Tsunade said that we'd have the meeting as soon as Kakashi returned. Why go somewhere else when we'll just be call to the meeting in a few minutes anyway?"

"Makes sense."

They remained quiet the rest of the way to the meeting room, and sat alone for ten minutes before Guy and Lee walked in. Soon everyone was there and the room was a cacophony of sound. Parents arguing, other's talking about random things, and Shikamaru and Temari just sat there watching it all.

Asuma had sat across from Shikamaru, and when Temari saw his face, she leaned over to Shikamaru. "What happened to him?"

Shikamaru looked over at Asuma then to Temari. "Oh, when dad found out I was pregnant with Asuma's kid, he started beating Asuma in the face. It took me, Guy, Lee, and Kurenai just to get him off and away from Asuma."

Temari looked back over to Asuma. "Wow."

"Alright, enough!" Tsunade yelled and everyone in the room quieted down. "Now, let's get started." We're here to discuss what we should do about our current situation. A little over two weeks ago, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, Sakura, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Rock Lee disappeared from the village. When they returned, we found out that the enemy made all of them have sex together. We then found out that Kurenai, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Lee have become pregnant."

"I say those four should be locked away for raping our children," Kiba's dad, Inuken, cried out.

"Dad!" Kiba yelled out angrily. The room went loud again when everyone started talking at once.

Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table and everyone looked over at her and got quiet again. "I know that you are all concerned about your children's wellbeing, but I can't just lock them up."

"And why not?" Sakura's dad, Kizashi, asked.

"Because the four of us don't want them to be," Sakura replied.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed. "The eight of us were forced into the situation. We don't blame them for what happened." He looked over to Kurenai and smiled as he took her hand. "Some of us even fell in love with them."

"Kiba!" his mother, Tsume, cried out.

"That's right," Sakura said and grabbed Kakashi's hand and raised it for everyone to see. "I love Kakashi, and I'm not going to let anyone get between us." Kakashi smiled and squeezed her hand to show that he agreed.

"I am not going to let my little girl be with someone like him," Kizashi said.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, dad! I'm almost seventeen!" Sakura replied as she stood up, angrily glaring at her father.

"Enough," Tsunade said again. Sakura took her seat again. "I understand how you all feel, but if Sakura and Kiba want to be with them, then I have no right to stop them."

"But they're their senseis," Sakura's mother, Mebuki, called out.

"Former senseis. When they became chunin, Sakura and Kiba stopped being their students," Tsunade explained.

"But they're still children!" Tsume yelled.

"Technically they became legal adults when they became genin," Tsunade replied calmly.

"And what about you two," Inuken called out to Shikamaru and Lee. "Are you two going to say that you're in love with your senseis too?"

"My son is not gay," Shikaku replied dangerously. "He is with Temari."

"Hey, why is she here anyway? She's not apart of this?" Inuken asked.

"I have every right to be here as you do!" Temari bit back. "I've been Shikamaru's girlfriend for two years now, and whatever happens here will effect me too!"

Inuken shut up and Tsunade smiled. "Temari is with Shikamaru, so she can be here. Now as for the topic of Sakura and Kiba being in a relationship, it is their decision and it will not be brought up again in this meeting. If you wish to discuss it further, you can do so outside of this meeting." No one said anything else. "Good, now, we need to discuss what should be done about the babies."

"What do you mean what should be done? They should be destroyed," Shikaku said.

"Shikaku, please," Yoshino called out.

"You can't just decide that," Sakura complained.

"I agree," Kurenai said. "They may have been conceived unintentionally, but that doesn't mean they should be destroyed."

Shikaku looked over at Kurenai. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it towards the two of you," he looked over at Tsunade, "but Shikamaru and Lee are males. It's not natural." Kiba and Sakura's parents both nodded in agreement.

"No, the children will not be destroyed, none of them," Tsunade stated.

Sakura and Kurenai grinned, but Shikamaru and Lee looked down. Temari looked over at Shikamaru sadly and grabbed his hand. Shikamaru looked up at her and gave her a small smile.

"Why not?" Shikaku yelled.

"Because, Sakura and Kurenai have claimed that they wish to keep the children, and as for Shikamaru and Lee, there is no telling what an abortion would do to them because of the serum." Shikaku went quiet. "The other reason is that we don't kill unnecessarily. As was mentioned before, these children were conceived unintentionally and should not be punished for it."

"But our kids are too young to take care of a child on their own," Mebuki spoke up.

"Yes, I've thought of that as well," Tsunade replied. "So, I have decided that those that are pregnant must marry the man that impregnated them."

"What?!" The room went wild with arguments about the subject.

Shikamaru froze when he heard that and his eyes went wide.  _'Marry Asuma?'_

"Now wait just a minute, Lady Tsunade," Shikaku spoke up. Everyone quieted down at Shikaku's outburst. "My son is not going to marry  _him_." Asuma flinched at the venom in Shikaku's voice.

"I agree," Temari said. "I mean, I don't have anything against Asuma. Shikamaru said what happened between them didn't mean anything, and that's good enough for me, but what about me? Are you just going to say that we can't be together anymore so that he can marry Asuma?"

Shikamaru squeezed Temari's hand.  _'No, I can't loose Temari.'_

"Hmmmm," Tsunade said thinking about what she said.

"Lady Tsunade," Asuma spoke up for the first time. "You should let Shikamaru stay with Temari." Everyone looked over to him surprised, but Shikamaru just gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, and what about Lee," Guy spoke up.

"Does he even have a girlfriend?" Sakura asked.

"No, I do not," Lee replied sadly.  _'Because my heart was set on you, Sakura, but I will not come between you and Kakashi if he makes you happy.'_

Everyone looked at Tsunade waiting for her answer. "My order still stands," she finally said.

"What?" Temari cried out.

Shikamaru looked down at his lap sadly. "Temari, just stop," he said quietly.

"You're ok with this?" Temari yelled standing up. "You want to break up with me? You said it was nothing, but now you're not even fighting against this?" Shikamaru continued to look at his lap silently.

 _'_ _It would be a dream come true to be able to spend the rest of my life with him, but he would never be happy with me,'_  Asuma thought.  _'I can't do that to him.'_  "Lady Tsunade, please reconsider," he pleaded.

Shikamaru looked up at him surprised.  _'But shouldn't he be happy about this? He's the one that said he loved me.'_

"Asuma…" she began, but was cut off.

"Can't you see there's another option for him? He should be with Temari. I," he looked over and his eyes met with Shikamaru's, "I couldn't do that to him. He'd never be happy with me."

Tsunade looked down again thinking. She looked at Temari. "And you would be willing to marry Shikamaru immediately?"

"Yes, in a heartbeat," she replied firmly. Shikamaru smiled at her.

"But I can't just order you to marry him. You're not from my village, and the Kazekage would not be very happy with me," Tsunade said.

"So send him a letter, or better yet, let me send him one. He's my brother, and if I tell him what's going on and that it's my choice, he'll agree," Temari said.

Tsunade thought about this again and saw her, Shikamaru, Asuma, Shikaku, and Yoshino all waiting eagerly for her answer. "Very well, I'll send the Kazekage a letter." They all let out a breath of relief. "But," she continued, "if he denies the request, Shikamaru will marry Asuma. I'm not only ordering these marriages because I don't think you can handle raising the children on your own." She looked to everyone else. "I do not want bastard children in my village."

When no one else said anything, Tsunade declared the meeting dismissed and everyone got up to leave. Tsunade headed straight for her office to send the letter to Gaara. The Naras, Temari, and Asuma stopped at the door.

"Shikamaru," Asuma said, "I really hope Gaara agrees to the marriage."

Shikamaru smiled at him and took Temari's hand and squeezed it. "Me too," he said as he looked at her.

"Thank you for standing up for him," Yoshino said to Asuma.

Shikaku had his arms crossed. "Shikaku, I hope you can forgive me for all of this," Asuma said. "I-I never wanted it to end up like this."

Shikaku stared at him. "You just better not touch my son like that ever again, you hear me?" Asuma nodded and Shikaku grabbed Yoshino's hand and left the room.

"Why did you do that?" Shikamaru asked Asuma.

Temari looked at him confused. "What do you mean why did he do that? It wasn't right and…"

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Shikamaru continued ignoring Temari.

"What?" Temari asked and looked over at Asuma.

Asuma wasn't looking at them. He had a sad smile on his face. "I didn't want you to hate me because I was the reason you couldn't be with Temari anymore." He looked at Shikamaru and placed a hand on his cheek. "I love you, Shikamaru, but I made a promise to you that if you didn't want to do it again, then I'd stay away. I just hope we can remain friends."

Shikamaru put his hand on Asuma's and began pulling it off his face. "We are still friends," he said now smiling. "Thank you, Asuma."

Temari was completely stunned. She was watching the whole exchange with wide eyes.  _'Asuma's gay?'_

Shikamaru looked over at Temari's stunned face and chuckled. He grabbed her hand. "Come on. I'm sure your hungry after your tip here." He turned to Asuma. "Why don't we find Choji and Ino and get some barbeque?"

Asuma smiled and looked to Temari. "As long as it's ok with you."

Temari got herself under control and nodded. "It's fine. If Shikamaru's ok with it then so am I. Thank you for sticking up for us back there."

"No problem," Asuma said and the three of them went out to find Choji and Ino.


	6. The Marriages

It was early morning, two days after the meeting, and Sakura was lying in bed. She snuggled up to the warm pillow next to her and smiled.  _'Mmmm… so warm.'_  She laid there about to fall back asleep when something wrapped around her waist. She let out a small gasp, opened her eyes quickly, and looked up to see Kakashi laying there, smiling down at her.

"Good morning," he said and kissed the top of her head.

"Morning," she replied.  _'But why is he in my room? Mom and dad haven't let me see him since… Oh…'_

**_Flashback_ **

**_Sakura laid in her dark room, tossing and turning. She pulled the blankets close to her, one leg wrapped around the top of it, when she heard a small knock. She opened her eyes and looked around the room, but when she didn't see anything, she closed her eyes again and tried to fall asleep._ **

**_A few seconds later, she heard the knock again, only a little louder this time, and she could tell that it was someone knocking on glass. She sat up and looked toward her window and saw someone staring back. She gasped, a bit frightened until she realized it was Kakashi._ **

**_She got up and went over to the window, unlocked it, and raised it up. "Kakashi, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"_ **

**_Kakashi chuckled as he slipped his way in and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."_ **

**_Sakura turned her head in frustration, but wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, relaxing into his embrace. She pulled away slightly to look up at him. "What are you doing here? If my parents find out you're here, they won't be very happy."_ **

**_"_ ** **_I know," he said as he pulled her over to the bed, "but it's not like they can really do anything about it. I am supposed to marry you."_ **

**_Sakura smiled. She waited for him to take off his shoes and lay down before she crawled onto the bed and snuggled up close to him. "You couldn't wait another day?"_ **

**_Kakashi pulled the blanket up over them and wrapped his arm around her. "I could've, but I didn't want to."_ **

**_Sakura's smile went wider and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. "I'm glad you didn't," she said and the room went silent._ **

**_Kakashi kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes as well._ ** **'** **Goodnight, my cherry blossom.'**

**_End of Flashback_ **

She smiled at the memory. She knew her parents would be furious, but right now she really didn't care. She closed her eyes again and snuggled up into his embrace, determined to stay there for a while longer, when a knock on her door made her jump. "Sakura, get up. I have breakfast ready," her mom shouted through the door.

"Ok, mom, I'll be down in a minute," she replied. She heard her mom's footsteps slowly disappearing down the hall and she looked back up to Kakashi. "You should probably leave before they realize you're here."

Kakashi sat up, making Sakura shiver from the sudden chill, and leaned over the bed and put his shoes on. He walked over to the window, Sakura doing the same. He pulled her into one last hug. "I'll see you later today?" He asked as he pulled away and put one foot on the windowsill.

"Yeah, I'll come by your place after breakfast."

"You sure your mom won't pull anymore chores or whatever on you again?"

Sakura crossed her arms. She wasn't mad at his question, but towards her mom. "No, because I plan on telling her I have duties at the hospital today."

"Will she believe you?" he asked raising his visible eyebrow.

"Probably not, but she won't say anything because she knows that if I really did have to be at the hospital, Lady Tsunade would be paying her another visit and telling her off like last time."

"Last time?"

"Yeah. It was a few months back. She thought I was seeing some boy, which I wasn't, and said that I wouldn't be going out that day. Lady Tsunade showed up and chewed her out because the hospital was actually really busy that day and they really needed my help. Let's just say, after that, mom never questioned me about it again."

Kakashi smiled. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him and planted a final kiss on her lips before raising his mask. "I'll see you later then." He jumped out the window and headed off.

Sakura smiled as she watched him disappear, then turned and got ready for her day.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Lee slowly opened his eyes, but quickly shut them again when the light from the window blinded him. He turned over and opened them again. Eventually he sat up and ran his hand through his hair. He heard a knock on the door. "Yes?"

The door opened and Guy walked in. "You hungry?"

"Yes," he said and got out of bed.

Lee had been staying at Guy's house since the meeting. It wasn't unusual that he stayed over since he did it all the time before the incident. Guy had even given him the spare room and called it Lee's room.

When they got into the kitchen, Guy walked over to the fridge as Lee sat down at the table. "So, what would you like today?"

"I am kind of in the mood for pancakes with strawberries on top," Lee said.

Guy chuckled. "Cravings starting already?" he asked as he pulled out the ingredients he needed.

Lee blushed. "Uh, I do not know. I just really want pancakes with strawberries."

Guy laughed. "Well, I've been around a few pregnant women, and they always said that when they suddenly have the urge to want to eat something, it's because of cravings."

Lee's blush went deeper and he looked down. "Then I guess it is."

Guy just chuckled and began mixing together the ingredients for the pancakes.

The room went quiet except for the sounds of the preparations for their breakfast. When Guy finally got the mix done and started putting them on the countertop grill, Lee spoke up. "What do you think about the upcoming marriage Lady Tsunade is making us go through?"

Guy looked over to him. "What?"

Lee looked down again. "D-do you think it will be ok?"

Guy turned back to the pancakes. "Well, sure," he said. He was trying to be positive about it, but he also had some doubts in his mind. "I mean, you're over here all the time, so it's not like it'll be any different from before."

"But will we have to sleep… together?" Lee asked looking up at him.

Guy picked up the spatula next to him and started flipping over the pancakes. "Well, Lady Tsunade never said we had to. I don't see why you couldn't sleep in your room."

"I see," Lee said looking down again. The room went quiet again.

Guy grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and put the now done pancakes on it. "Why don't you get the strawberries out of the fridge," Guy said.

"Yes sir," Lee said and went over to the fridge and got the strawberries. He went over to the cupboard and got two plates and two cups out and began setting the table. "Guy Sensei?"

"Hmmm," Guy said as he poured more of the batter on the grill.

"Do… Will we have to… have sex again?"

Guy's eyes went wide and he quickly turned around, the batter he was pouring splattering on the floor. He sat the bowl on the counter and grabbed the rag off the sink and started cleaning it up. "Uhhh…"

Lee watched him as he wiped up the batter then walked over and got some forks and knives out of the drawer, the syrup and peanut butter off the shelf next to the fridge, and the orange juice out of the fridge. "Isn't that what married people do?"

Guy finished cleaning up the batter and stood up. He watched Lee walk back to the table and place the stuff in front of the plates. "Well, yes, but," he started as he turned back to the pancakes, "if that's not something that you want to do, then we don't have to," he finished blushing a bit.

Lee only nodded as he sat back down and stared at his plate, and the room went quiet again. Guy placed the last few pancakes on the plate, turned off the grill, and walked over and sat the plate of pancakes in between them and sat down. They ate in silence, neither one of them looking at the other.

Half way through his pancakes, Lee started pushing his fork around on the extra syrup on his plate. Guy saw this, swallowed the food that was in his mouth, and spoke. "Lee?"

"I'm scared, Guy Sensei," Lee replied not looking up from his plate. "I-I don't know what to think about all of this." He looked up at Guy, a few tears forming in his eyes. "I-I…"

Guy quickly got up and went over and pulled Lee into a hug. Lee started crying into Guy's chest. "Don't worry, Lee. We'll get through this."

After a few minutes, Lee pulled away from Guy and wiped at his eyes. "I am sorry, Guy Sensei. I have become weak."

Guy placed a hand on Lee's shoulder. "No. This is not a normal situation, and even I would be scared if I was in your position."

"Really?" Lee asked as he pulled his arm away from his face and looked at Guy.

"Really," he confirmed giving Lee a small smile. "Listen, why don't we go for some slight training after breakfast. Maybe it will get your mind off things for a while."

"But Lady Tsunade said that I couldn't train anymore."

"No, she said we can't train as hard as we usually do. We can do a few things."

Lee smiled. "Thank you, Guy Sensei."

Guy stood up and walked back over to his seat. "No problem. Now, let's finish our breakfast then go by and see if Neji and Ten Ten want to join us in our training."

"Right!" Lee said in his usual energetic way and dug into his unfinished pancakes.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

It was a little more wild in Kurenai's house as Kiba was quickly thrusting in and out of her. Both of them were moaning and crying out each others names. Kiba was on top and Kurenai had her legs wrapped around his waist. She quickly pulled Kiba down into a passionate kiss and buried her hands in his shaggy hair. After a few more thrusts, they both hit their climaxes and Kiba pulled out and landed next to her panting.

"Man, I could get use to that," he said between pants.

Kurenai turned on her side and started kissing his neck, but stopped and chuckled at his words. "Yeah, me too."

Kiba looked over at his lover and smiled. "Wanna go again?"

Kurenai laughed and kissed his cheek. "I'd love to, but we've been at it for almost two hours already. I'm hungry and need a shower," Kurenai said as she sat up and began getting out of bed.

Kiba quickly got up and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into him. "Want me to join you," he said and kissed her neck, biting it gently.

Kurenai laughed again. "And how is that suppose to help me get cleaned up?"

Kiba stopped and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I guess you have a point."

She untangled herself from his grip, got up, and walked toward the door. "Why don't you go down and start some coffee," she said as she stopped in the door and looked back at him. "I'll make something to eat when I get out."

"Ok," he said as he grabbed his boxers off the floor.

Kurenai smiled and walked out the door.

After her shower, Kurenai was in her bathrobe fixing some bacon and eggs on the stove. She could feel Kiba's eyes on her. "You know, you could find some other way to occupy yourself."

"Why would I want to do that when I can stare at your hot body?" Kiba asked with a grin.

Kurenai glanced back at him with a smile on her face then turned back to the skillet. "You really are a dog, Kiba."

Kiba laughed. "Yeah? Well you should see my dad. It's disgusting the way he drools over mom. At least I don't do that."

Kurenai chuckled and turned with two plates piled with bacon and eggs. She walked over, sat one plate in front of Kiba. "Are you sure about that?" she asked as she swiped at his mouth.

Kiba blushed, pushed her hand away, and wiped his mouth with his arm. "It's because of the bacon."

"Sure," Kurenai replied as she sat down.

They talked about small things as they ate, but then fell silent. "So, is this how it will be now?"

Kurenai pulled the cup from her lips. "I don't know. Only time will tell."

Kiba looked down at his plate. "Are you actually happy with me?"

Kurenai sat her cup down and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Kiba looked up at her. "I mean, we've only be together for almost three weeks, neither one of us feeling anything for each other before hand, except that I thought you were smoking hot. Is this real, or is it just some fling?"

Kurenai looked down, thinking about what he just said. She wasn't entirely sure herself.  _'Is he right? Am I just enjoying his company because of the amazing sex? Or is there something more?'_  She looked up to Kiba's concerned face and smiled. "I think we should just take it a day at a time."

Kiba nodded then gave her a sly grin. "So, now do you feel like another round?"

Kurenai laughed and quickly picked up their plates and put them in the sink to wash later and dragged Kiba out of the kitchen.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru slowly stirred awake, keeping his eyes closed as he could see the sun already bright through his eyelids.  _'Troublesome sun. Why does it have to be so bright._ ' He felt a slight pressure on his chest and slowly pried one lid open and looked down to see Temari's head resting comfortably on him, or rather uncomfortably for him. He shifted slightly, trying not to wake the still sleeping woman, but suddenly his stomach started twisting. He quickly threw the covers off of him and bolted out of the room and to the bathroom.

Temari jolted awake when she felt her head suddenly slam onto the bed and looked up wide-eyed and saw Shikamaru running out of the room. Her face scrunched up in concern as she pulled the covers back, grabbed Shikamaru's shirt that she discarded last night and put it on, got up, grabbed his boxers, and then walked out the door.

She followed the sound of puking to the bathroom, and stopped when she saw Shikamaru leaned over the toilet. "You ok?" she asked as she walked up to him.

"Yeah," he replied as he grabbed a nearby towel and wiped his mouth, "but I think I'm finally getting that stupid morning sickness."

Temari chuckled as she handed him his boxers. Shikamaru's face went a little red as he took them and put them on. "I'm sure it won't last too long."

"Don't count on it. Lady Tsunade said that some people are sick the entire time. It's a major drag," he said then went over to the sink and rinsed out his mouth. "Mom said she was sick for almost three months when she was pregnant with me."

Temari wrapped her arms around his stomach and laid her head on his back. "You'll live."

Shikamaru turned off the water and groaned. He wiped his hands and mouth on the same towel and threw it in the hamper to wash later. He broke the hug with Temari and walked out.

Shikamaru walked into his apartment's kitchen, grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, and took the apple juice out of the fridge and poured some in the glass. He chugged the juice down.

Temari walked in and just watched him. Her eyes slid down to his stomach and she frowned.  _'Why did this have to happen to him?'_

"You want something to eat?" he suddenly asked her as he pulled a bowl from the cupboard. When she nodded, he pulled as second one down and grabbed the cereal and closed the door. "Sorry, all I have is Frosted Flakes. Hope that's ok."

"It's fine," she said as she walked to the table.

They both poured out the cereal into the bowl, covered it with milk, and ate in silence. "I should really get other things to fix, but it's too troublesome to walk to the store."

"How long have you had this apartment?" Temari asked before she put a spoonful of the golden flakes in her mouth.

Shikamaru swallowed the food in his mouth and responded. "About a week. I had been planning on moving out before the incident, even put the down payment on it, and since I had some free time anyway, decided to move in."

"I see. Well, it should be big enough for us for now," she said as she got up and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard then went over to the fridge and pulled out the juice.

"Maybe for now, but it's only a one bedroom apartment. I may have to see if I can get a bigger apartment with a two bedroom when…" he stopped. It still felt weird to say it.

"When the baby gets here?" Temari questioned as she walked back to the table.

"Yeah," he said. They both went silent again.

Neither one spoke for the rest of the meal, both lost in their own thoughts about the baby. What was going to happen when it got here, and how was it going to affect them?

When Shikamaru got up and took his bowl to the sink, Temari finally asked one of the big questions in her mind. "So how's the kid going to be born?"

Shikamaru froze.  _'How's it going to be born?'_  He looked back at Temari.

"Well, think about it, it's not like you have a place for the baby to come out of," she said as she walked toward him to put her bowl in the sink.

Shikamaru paled at her comment.  _'She's right. Dang it, why did this have to happen.'_  He closed his eyes and Temari could see the worry on his face.

"Hey, I'm sure Lady Tsunade will figure something out," she said as she turned his head toward hers.

Shikamaru opened his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" he asked as he headed out of the kitchen.

When he pulled the door open, he saw a shinobi standing there. "Shikamaru Nara?"

"Yeah?"

"Lady Tsunade is requesting yours and Temari's presence as soon as possible."

"Uh, ok. Thanks."

The shinobi nodded then turned and walked down the hall.

Shikamaru walked back into the kitchen and saw Temari still standing in front of the sink. "Who was that?" she asked.

"A shinobi telling me that Lady Tsunade wants to see us."

Temari walked forward. "You think she finally got a response from Gaara?"

"I hope so." They both started walking toward his bedroom. "I would've thought his response would've come quicker."

"Gaara was probably thinking about it and talking it over with Kankuro," Temari said calmly as she walked into the room and started picking up her clothes.

Shikamaru went a little red when Temari pulled off his shirt and stood in front of her completely naked. "Right," he said as he looked away. He went to his dresser and pulled out his own clothes.

They both quickly got dressed and headed to Tsunade's office. When they got there, Shikamaru knocked on the door, and they went in when she gave the ok to. They saw Asuma and Shikaku standing there. "What are you two doing here?" Shikamaru asked.

"I summoned them here because Shikaku asked to be informed on Gaara's decision, and Asuma will need to know as well," Tsunade answered. Shikamaru just nodded and stood next to his dad.

"So it is Gaara's reply," Temari stated.

"Yes, we just received it this morning," Tsunade said as she picked it up off her desk. "He says he'll agree to the marriage," Shikaku let out a sigh of relief, "however, Temari has to return to Suna to take care of a few things before she can live here."

Shikamaru and Temari turned to each other and smiled. Shikaku put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, making both Shikamaru and Temari look at him, and smiled. Asuma looked over to the three sadly, but forced a small smile onto his face.  _'At least he'll be happy this way.'_

"Now," Lady Tsunade began, causing the four of them to look back at her, "it'll take a few hours to finish up everything, but we'll go ahead with the marriages today. I will summon you and the others back here when everything is ready. You're dismissed."

The four nodded and left the office. "Well, I actually didn't think he would agree to it," Shikamaru said as they walked down the hall.

"Why not?" Shikaku asked confused.

Temari grabbed Shikamaru's hand and got closer to him. "Despite what you may think, they don't hate you, Shikamaru," she said.

"Really? That's not what I got when they came here to kill me after they found out about us."

"They what?" Shikaku asked surprised.

Temari looked over at him. "They were just testing him. They knew if they did anything to him I would've kicked their butts." Shikaku gave her a worried look. She chuckled. "They just wanted to make sure he was serious about his relationship with me. They may be my younger brothers, but they are way to overprotective of me even though I can protect myself."

"You could've warned me they were coming," Shikamaru said annoyed.

"Where would the fun in that be?" she asked with a huge smile. She laughed at the look on his face. "I was on a mission. I didn't know they went until Baki Sensei told me."

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru said as he looked away from her.

"They just didn't want to see me get hurt. I've had guys in the past that just wanted to date me because I was the sister of the Kazekage. They figured if they could scare you off then you weren't good enough to date me, but since you stood up to them, they have a lot of respect for you."

"They almost killed me!" Shikamaru said looking at her again.

"Hey, Suna's a lot tougher than Konoha is. It's how we were raised," Temari defended. "Have they tried it again since?"

"No," he said looking away again, "but that doesn't mean they won't try again."

"You've gotten yourself into a very troublesome situation, son," Shikaku said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Tell me about it," Shikamaru replied.

All throughout their exchange, Asuma stayed quiet behind them. He was happy at the way Shikamaru was acting now.  _'He's been so depressed ever since the pregnancy announcement.'_

"Hey, Asuma," Temari said as she turned to look at him.

"Uh, yeah?" Asuma asked.

"Aren't you paying attention?"

The four of them stopped. "What do you mean?"

"I asked you if you wanted to join us?" Temari replied. "We were talking about going to the barbeque restaurant for lunch this afternoon."

Asuma looked over at Shikaku. He was trying to find some trace of how Shikaku felt about this, but as usual, his face was in his usual bored expression.

"We were going to get the other's too," Shikamaru added.

Asuma looked over to him. "As in Kakashi and the others?"

"Yeah."

"Shikamaru, I'm gonna head back home and tell your mother what happened," Shikaku said.

"Ok, see you later," Shikamaru replied then turned back to Asuma.

"So?" Temari asked.

"I guess," Asuma replied. "Are you sure your dad's gonna want me there?"

Shikamaru frowned. "Is that what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Asuma asked confused.

"The way you've been acting for the past week. You've been distant and haven't really talked. Is it because of dad?"

"Your father and I aren't really on the best of terms right now," Asuma said averting his eyes and rubbing the back of his head.

"You said you weren't going to let this affect our friendship," Shikamaru stated. Asuma froze and looked up at him. "Asuma, I don't care what dad says or thinks. He was starting to forgive you because of the incident, and yes, he's not very happy at the other situation you put me in," Asuma looked away sadly, "but I don't care."

Asuma snapped his head back up wide-eyed. "Y-you don't?"

Temari listened to their talk and looked over at Asuma. "You two have one of the strongest bonds I've ever seen."

Asuma looked over at her. "You're still ok with this?"

"I do find it weird that my boyfriend… uhhh… soon to be husband, is pregnant, but I can't make him change his mind." Asuma looked at her confused. "He's already told me that he wants you to be a part of the kid's life."

"You do?" he asked looking at Shikamaru.

"Stop being so troublesome, Asuma. Of coarse I do. It's your kid too, and it wouldn't be fair if you didn't get to be a part of its life too. Yeah, me and Temari will be the ones to raise it for the most part, but you'll be its father too." Asuma looked away. "I just want things to go back to the way they were before the incident. I know it won't completely 'cause of the kid, but can you at least try not avoiding me?"

Asuma took in a deep breath and looked back to Shikamaru. "I'm sorry, Shika. I want things to go back to normal too, but I was afraid that after I told you how I felt about you, plus the kid, that you wouldn't want me around you anymore."

"And I told you I didn't care about that. Let's just forget the whole thing and return to normal, ok," he said and held out his hand.

Asuma looked it for a few seconds before he took it and smiled up at him. "Alright."

"Good, now that that's settled, why don't we get out of her and do something fun," Temari said and started dragging Shikamaru away.

Asuma laughed and followed them.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

A few hours later, everyone was standing outside the Hokage's building. Tsunade had decided to do the ceremony there because of all the people that came to witness it. Shikamaru's parents were there along with Asuma, Ino, and Choji, Sakura's parents, who weren't too happy, Naruto, Kiba's parents, who were actually giddy about it now that they'd accepted it, Hinata, Shino, and of coarse Akamaru, and finally Neji and Ten Ten.

The eight that were getting married, Lady Tsunade, and Shizune all stood in front of everyone and Tsunade gave out a shout to calm everyone down so they could start.

"Alright, now before we begin, Lee, I will be putting you in the group of bride for this ceremony to make things simpler."

Lee blushed. "Yes ma'am."

"Can you really believe Lee and Guy Sensei are getting married?" Ten Ten asked Neji in a whisper.

"It is the Hokage's orders," Neji simply replied.

"Yeah, but still. It's a little weird."

Naruto, who was standing next to them, spoke up. "Yeah, who would've thought that Bushy Brow and Bushier Brow Sensei would be gay."

"They're not gay, you idiot," Ten Ten whisper yelled. "Like Neji said, it's just an order 'cause she doesn't want bastard children running around the village."

"Is that why Kakashi Sensei and Sakura are getting married?" Naruto asked, his attention now fully on Ten Ten.

Ten Ten sighed and shook her head. "Of coarse it is. Although, Sakura told me that she doesn't mind since she loves Kakashi anyway."

"Will you two please be quiet?" Neji said. "I can't hear."

"Sorry," they both said and put their head down.

"Now, do you Kakashi, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Guy take Sakura, Kurenai, Temari, and Lee to be your lawfully wedded wives, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" Tsunade asked.

"I do," the four men replied in unison.

"And do you Sakura, Kurenai, Temari, and Lee take Kakashi, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Guy to be your lawfully wedded husbands, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me, the Hokage of the Leaf village, and the approval of the Kazekage of the Sand village, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may all kiss your brides."

Kakashi, Kiba, and Shikamaru smiled and kissed their women, but Guy hesitated before finally planting a small quick kiss on Lee's lips.

"May I now introduce you all to Kakashi and Sakura Hatake, Kiba and Kurenai Inuzuka, Shikamaru and Temari Nara, and because of a mutual agreement between the two, Might Guy and Rock Lee. Now I need the four newlyweds to come up and sign the marriage certificates and two witnesses for each couple."

Ino and Choji looked over to Shikaku and Yoshino and got a nod of approval before going up to be Shikamaru and Temari's witnesses. Neji and Ten Ten walked up to be Guy and Lee's, Naruto went up to Kakashi and Sakura and Ino agreed beforehand to also be their other witness, and Hinata and Shino went up to Kiba and Kurenai's.

After everyone signed, Kiba turned around and shouted to everyone. "Let's all go out to lunch!" Everyone agreed to the idea and started heading out to the agreed barbeque restaurant.

"Lady Tsunade, Shizune, are you two coming," Sakura asked.

"We have a few things to take care of before…" Shizune started but was cut off by Tsunade.

"Of coarse we're coming."

"But, Ma'am," Shizune protested.

"Shizune, go put those papers on my desk and let's get going. We can do all of that after we celebrate."

"Yes ma'am," Shizune said and ran off.

Once she came back down, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and Sakura all headed off to the barbeque restaurant, Kakashi and Sakura holding each other's hand.


	7. Shopping and Talk

Temari rolled over and felt around for the warm body next to her, but when she didn't feel it, she opened her eyes. She looked around the room, but didn't see Shikamaru anywhere. She then got up and went into the living room area.

"Morning," Shikamaru said when he saw her walk in.

"You're up early," she said as she walked in and got a cup of the coffee that he made.

"Yeah, woke up and couldn't get back to sleep," he replied as he got up from the couch and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

Temari smiled and took a sip of the coffee. She sat the cup on the counter and turned so she was facing him and kissed him on the lips. "I'm just surprised that you're actually awake before me. That never happens."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Troublesome woman. It's not my choice." He went over and sat at the table.

Temari chuckled as she grabbed her cup and took another drink. "You eat anything yet?"

"I had some toast at around five this morning, but that just came back up an hour ago," Shikamaru replied.

"You want me to make you something before I have to leave?"

"If you want to."

Temari raised her eyebrow. "You're not hungry?"

"I guess I am, but I figured we could go get something at that restaurant that you like and get something, unless you want to cook something."

"I don't mind," she said as she sat her cup on the table and went over to the fridge and pulled out the eggs. "And now that this fridge is full, it better stay that way mister."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes again. "I know that."

Temari smiled and started making omelets. When she finished them, she put one on each of their plates and sat them on the table.

"So, how long will you be gone?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just depends," Temari answered between bites. "Probably at least a month."

Shikamaru choked on a bite of his omelet. "What?"

"Well, I sort of brought this up suddenly, and I had a few duties that I was responsible for in the village, so they're going to need to find someone to replace me. Plus, the council is going to want to know what is going on, terms of things, probably even discuss what they or the village will get out of this marriage," Temari replied.

"Jeeze, I didn't think it would be that difficult." He was silent for a few minutes. "So, will you be back in time for the ultrasound thing?" he asked quietly.

Temari stopped her hand before it reached her mouth and lowered it. "I'll try to be." Neither looked at each other. "I'll, uh, I'll have Gaara send a letter when I'm on my way that way you can hold off on it until I get here."

"Ok."

They finished their meal, did the dishes, Temari washing while Shikamaru dried and put away, and got dressed to leave.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" Temari asked when she saw Shikamaru just sitting on their bed not attempting to move.

"I am."

She looked down and saw that he was in a pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt. "You're really going out in that?"

"And what's wrong with this?" he asked a little annoyed.

"Nothing, I've just never seen you running around the village in anything but your shinobi outfit." She pulled off her nightshirt and started putting on her bra and top.

Shikamaru looked away and his face went a little red, and not because of Temari's half naked form. "I, uh…"

Temari looked over at him as she pulled off the shorts she wore last night and saw his red face. "Are you still embarrassed at looking at me?" she asked with a smile.

"What?" he asked looking up to her. "No, well, not really… My pants were too tight when I put them on, ok?"

She buttoned and zipped her tan capris and just stared at him and smiled. "What, getting to big for your pants now?" She laughed when his face went redder.

"Troublesome woman," he said as he looked away from her.

She went over to the small mirror above the dresser and put her hair in four ponytails then walked over to him. She sat down on the bed and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry, but your just way to easy to tease."

Shikamaru smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss. "And you're too troublesome. Why did I fall in love with you again?"

"Who knows," she replied and pushed him down on the bed and attacked his lips.

They continued their battle of the tongues for a few more minutes before they finally got up and left.

When they got to the gate, they said their goodbyes and Temari headed off to Suna. Shikamaru turned and walked back into town.

 _'_ _I really should get some more sweatpants,'_ he thought as he walked past a clothing store. Just before he entered the store, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

He turned around and saw Ino rushing toward him, Sakura, Hinata, and Ten Ten following her. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked when they got closer.

"Oh, we were just going to get some breakfast. We asked Kurenai if she wanted to join us, but she said she had plans with one of her other friends. What about you?" Ino asked.

"Well, I was going to buy some…"

"You're already going baby shopping!" Ino interrupted.

"No. You didn't…" he was cut off again when she started pulling him away from the store.

"That store's completely wrong to go baby shopping, Shikamaru," Ino began. "The place you want to go to is Cutie Pies."

Shikamaru continued to let Ino drag him, thinking it was too troublesome to stop her. He looked back and saw the others following as well. "I can't believe you're already thinking about what to get your baby, Shikamaru," Ten Ten said.

"Yeah, Kakashi and I wasn't planning on doing that for a while yet," Sakura agreed.

Shikamaru sighed. "I wasn't. I was going to buy more…" Again he got cut off by Ino's yelling.

"Hey, Lee!" Lee looked over at her. "We're going baby shopping, you want to join?"

Lee walked over to them and saw Shikamaru with them. "Uh, sure."

Shikamaru sighed and gave up, sticking his hands in his pants pockets.  _'There's just no convincing this troublesome woman.'_

The group walked down the streets until they reached Cutie Pies and walked in. The girls immediately began fawning over the little outfits and shoes. Lee looked at a few of them before he looked over and saw Shikamaru standing with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He walked over.

"You are not going to look around?"

"No, it's way to early to be doing this. I came to this part of town to get more sweatpants, but Ino there misunderstood and then wouldn't let me explain and dragged me into this," Shikamaru said a bit annoyed.

"I see." He looked over and saw Hinata holding up a cute purple girls outfit and, to both Shikamaru and Lee, saw Ino overreact to seeing it.

"Hey, let's get out of here," he said to Lee and walked towards the door.

"But won't the girls be angry?" Lee asked following him.

"Nah, they probably won't even realize we're gone until later."

"Ok," Lee replied, then both of them walked back to the store Shikamaru originally was going to.

After Shikamaru found a few pairs of sweatpants, and convinced Lee that he should do the same along with some bigger tops for later, they both headed in the direction of the park.

"So he really said that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes. Guy Sensei then beat the crap out of him saying that he never wanted to hear those insults about me again," Lee replied.

"Wow. Some guys in this village are really jerks."

They soon found a bench and sat down to rest on it. They talked for a while longer how Lee couldn't stand not being able to train like he's use to, and how Shikamaru has been enjoying the down time along with several other topics.

"So, has the morning sickness been causing you any trouble?" Shikamaru asked.

"Uh, well, I haven't really had any yet."

"What?" Shikamaru asked looking surprised.

"I thought it strange as well, but I read in the information sheets Lady Tsunade gave me that sometimes it takes longer for, uh, women, to experience it. I guess I just haven't gotten to that point yet."

"Well consider yourself lucky, 'cause it sucks. I managed to keep yesterdays meal down at the wedding celebration, but that night when Temari made a Suna dish, I couldn't even stand the smell of it."

"Was she mad?"

"A little, but she understood. She saved it for her and we just went out to eat instead."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Lee's stomach made a loud noise. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Shikamaru laughed. "It's fine. Wanna grab some lunch?"

"Yes." They then headed to a teashop to grab something cheap for lunch. "So, what do you think about all of this?" Lee asked as they walked.

"About what?"

"You know, the whole us being pregnant thing."

Shikamaru looked down. "It's… disturbing," he said finally. "I should be the one supporting Temari with this, not the other way around."

"I agree. How is she taking this?"

"Well, she hasn't really said that much. I think she's still trying to get use to the whole thing still too."

"And what about Asuma."

They reached the teashop and ordered a couple sandwiches and some tea, then Shikamaru finally answered Lee's question.

"Actually, he's really supportive, I think anyway."

"What do you mean you think?" Lee asked confused.

"Well, he stood up for me and Temari at the meeting and then at the lunch yesterday said he would help support the child anyway we wanted."

"So you are going to let him be apart of the child's life?"

"Yeah. It's his kid too, and I'm not going to take away his chance of being a part its life, especially if he never has any other kids himself," he said the last bit quieter.

"Why would he not have any kids himself? He is still single. He could be with any woman he wants and father as many children as he wants," Lee asked very confused.

 _'_ _Oh, yeah, that's right. Lee doesn't know.'_  He leaned forward and whispered so that only Lee could hear him. "Actually, Asuma is gay." Lee's eyes went wide. "He doesn't really like being with women." He sat back. "But I guess he could father children and then raise them with whoever he ends up with."

"I did not know that," Lee said looking down, then quickly shot his head up again. "Wait, so does that mean that during that time he…"

"Yeah, Asuma actually enjoyed it, well kind of. He didn't like the fact that he was hurting me by doing it, but he had been wanting to do that with me for a long time," Shikamaru said.

The waitress brought their food and drinks and the two boys thanked her as she walked away. They started eating. "So, are you uncomfortable around him now that you know?" Lee asked around bites.

Shikamaru put his sandwich down and took a drink before he replied. "A little, I guess, but we're trying to work around it. I was actually going to spend some time with him while Temari's away."

"That is good."

They continued talking until they both finished their meal and then said their goodbyes and parted ways.


	8. First Ultrasound

Sakura, Kurenai, Lee, and Shikamaru all sat in the waiting room at the hospital with their respective partners, except for Shikamaru. Temari was still not back from her trip to Suna, so Asuma was sitting with him.

The four were now two and a half months along in their pregnancies, and they were waiting for their first ultrasounds. Sakura and Kurenai were talking together excitedly about the ultrasounds, Kiba was also excited to see his baby for the first time, but Kakashi was just sitting next to Sakura reading his perverted book  _Make Out Tactics._  Lee and Guy were just sitting there silently, both looking down at the floor, Lee doing something with his fingers and Guy just sitting there looking at his feet. They weren't entirely sure what exactly they felt about the ultrasound. Asuma was silent as well, but he was listening to Kurenai and Sakura's excited conversation and every once in a while glancing over at Shikamaru who kept periodically glancing at the front entrance.

"I'm sure she'll be here," Asuma said when Shikamaru glanced over to the door for the fifth time in the past ten minutes.

Shikamaru looked over at Asuma. "She said she would write when she was heading back, but Lady Tsunade hasn't heard a word from her. I've barely heard a word from her in the past month and a half since she's been gone. What in the world could she be doing there that would take this long? All she was supposed to do was go there and tell the council that she was moving here, and get her things together."

Asuma placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Maybe that council isn't taking it as well as she thought. There could be several reasons why she's been so busy."

Shikamaru sighed and laid his head on Asuma's shoulder. The two had gotten a lot closer since Temari left, and they felt more comfortable around each other now. Even though Asuma is the father of the baby, Shikamaru has come to think of Asuma as even more than a father figure than he did before. With his own father seemingly ignoring him, he's turned to Asuma for the support he needs. "I just hope she's alright."

"I'm sure she's fine. You know her. She's the toughest woman in her village. She's probably on her way, and just got so excited for coming back that she forgot to send the letter," Asuma tried to comfort him.

"Yeah, but why wouldn't Gaara send one for her? She could've just told him too since she didn't get a chance."

Asuma was about to respond, but Tsunade came into the room. "Alright, we're ready for the first ultrasound. Sakura, Kakashi, why don't you two go first."

Kiba stood up. "Why do they get to go first?"

Kurenai grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down into the seat. "Kiba, calm down. It doesn't matter who goes first. We'll still get to see our baby."

Kiba looked over to her then crossed his arms and watched as Kakashi and Sakura left the room.

Tsunade led them to a small room and had Sakura lay down on the hospital bed. The head of the bed was propped up so Sakura wasn't actually lying down, but relaxed at a forty-five degree angle. Tsunade lifted up Sakura's shirt a little so that her stomach showed and put some gel on the exposed skin. "Alright, you ready?" Sakura eagerly nodded and Kakashi gave a nod to show he was ready too.

Tsunade placed the probe on Sakura's stomach and the three looked up to the screen. She moved the device over Sakura's stomach and finally found a good clear picture. "Oh wow," Sakura said as her eyes went wide. She grabbed Kakashi's hand and looked over at him. "That's our baby," she said with a huge smile on her face.

Kakashi just stared at the screen. He was speechless at the sight.

"And," Tsunade said as she turned a dial on the machine up, "here is your baby's heartbeat."

The room was filled with soft thumping sounds and Sakura turned back to the screen. Tears filled her eyes as she listened to the sound and she saw her baby move a bit on the screen. "The baby moved."

Tsunade smiled. "Sakura, you've done ultrasounds before. Of course the baby moved."

"Sorry, Ma'am, I guess it's just different when it's my own baby," Sakura said her cheeks going a little red.

Tsunade chuckled and looked to the screen. "Well, according to this, the baby is perfectly healthy. It's moving, it's growing properly…"

"Is it a boy or girl?" Kakashi suddenly asked interrupting Tsunade.

Tsunade and Sakura both looked over at him. "Kakashi, I told you, we won't find out what it is until the second ultrasound at around five months," Sakura said.

Kakashi never tore his one visible eye away from the screen and just nodded. Tsunade laughed at the reaction one of her strongest shinobi. "Alright," she said as she pulled the probe away from Sakura's stomach and handed her a towel to start wiping off the gel, "that's everything. I've taken a few pictures so you'll be able to take your first picture of your baby home."

"Maybe after my parents see the baby, they'll be happy for us," Sakura said a bit sadly.

"Parents still not happy with the whole marriage and pregnancy?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura finished wiping the gel off and handed the towel back to Tsunade. "No. They absolutely hate Kakashi, and won't hear one word about the pregnancy." Kakashi squeezed her hand. "I just hope a picture of the baby will make them change their minds."

Sakura got out of the bed and she and Kakashi followed Tsunade out of the room. "I'm sure they'll come around. The child is their first grandchild after all," Tsunade said.

They got back to the waiting room and Tsunade told them to wait for the picture. The two nodded and went to sit down. "Alright…"

"We're next, right?" Kiba said standing back up.

"Kiba," Kurenai said sternly.

"It's alright, Kurenai," Tsunade said. "Yes, Kiba, you and Kurenai are next."

"Yeah!" Kiba shouted as he fist pumped the air.

"Keep your voice down," Kurenai said as she pulled her husband down the hall.

"Sorry," Kiba replied a little embarrassed.

Shikamaru glanced over again at the front entrance and sighed.

"Alright," Tsunade said as they walked into the room. "Kurenai, please have a seat." Kurenai nodded and sat down on the bed. Kiba quickly got to her side and stared eagerly at the screen. Tsunade chuckled at the way Kiba was acting as she lifted Kurenai's shirt and applied the gel. She was glad Kurenai decided to wear a shirt and shorts to this appointment. "I think he's more excited than you are," she said to Kurenai.

"It's all he's been talking about for the last several days after I reminded him about it," Kurenai said with a smile as she looked over at her husband.

Kiba rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry," he said and then calmed himself down.

Tsunade placed the probe on Kurenai's stomach and a picture was displayed on the screen. "There's your child, Kiba," Tsunade said as she watched the screen to find a good clear picture.

Kiba's eyes went wide and the biggest grin appeared on his face. "He's so small."

Tsunade looked over to him with a smile. "Yes, right now the baby's about the size of a kumquat. Although, why you're showing this much… hmmm…" Tsunade squinted her eyes and moved closer to the screen.

"What? What's wrong?" Kiba asked worried.

Kurenai looked concerned too, but Tsunade just smiled. "Well, I guess that explains it," she said and looked over at the two.

"What? Is something wrong?" Kiba asked starting to panic.

"Calm down, Kiba," Kurenai said looking at him then turned to Tsunade. "Explains what?"

"Well," Tsunade began and moved the probe around Kurenai's stomach, "if you look at the screen," she looked up to the screen, "you can see not one, but two babies."

Kiba and Kurenai looked at the screen in shock. "Twins?" Kurenai asked.

Tsunade smiled and looked at them. "Yep, twins. Congratulations guys."

Kiba jumped up in the air. "We're having twins!"

"Kiba, I swear, if you start telling people we're having puppies, I'm going to kill you," Kurenai said. She looked over and saw Tsunade's confused look. "He's already told a couple people that I was having a 'pup,'" she explained.

Tsunade shook her head. "While you may be part of a dog centric clan, Kiba, your child is not a dog."

Kiba smiled. "Yeah, I know, but it's a joke my clan came up with a long time ago."

Kurenai grabbed his hand and smiled. "Fine, you can say it to your family, but not to other people."

"Ok," Kiba answered and planted a kiss on her lips. "Thanks."

Tsunade turned a dial on the machine and thumping could be heard. "I guess if we would've turned this on earlier we would've known sooner," she said as they heard the thumps echo.

"So that's the babies' heartbeats?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes, and they are strong which means the babies are doing good," Tsunade replied then pulled the probe away, wiped the gel off it, and sat it on the keyboard."

Tsunade handed a clean towel to Kurenai to wipe the gel off then escorted them back to the waiting room. "I took a picture of your twins and the picture should be ready in a few minutes. Please wait here until you get it."

"Thank you," Kurenai said. She grabbed Kiba's hand and sat down next to Sakura.

"Did Lady Tsunade just say twins?" Sakura asked as soon as Kurenai sat down.

"Yeah, we're having twins," Kiba said excitedly.

"Congratulations," Kakashi said.

Lee, Guy, Shikamaru, and Asuma congratulated them too, and before anything else could be said, the front entrance doors burst open. Shikamaru quickly turned his head hoping to see Temari, but saw two shinobi carrying a third. Tsunade quickly went over to them, found out what happened, ordered a nurse to take them to a room, then went over to the others.

"I'm sorry, I need to take care of this. I'll just be a few minutes," Tsunade said then walked off.

Shikamaru slumped back into his seat. "Thought it was Temari?" Asuma asked.

"Yeah," Shikamaru answered.

Asuma put his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. "I'm sorry. I'm sure she wants to be here."

Shikamaru looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "I'm the one that's sorry." Asuma raised an eyebrow. "While I want Temari here, you're the father. I shouldn't be so worried about Temari not being here."

"It's only natural that you would want your wife here, Shikamaru," Asuma said.

Shikamaru took a deep breath. "If she doesn't get here in time, then I'll be happy with just you here. According to those four," he said indicating Sakura, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Kiba, "we'll get a picture of the kid anyway, so she can just see it then."

Asuma nodded. "Yeah."

After twenty minutes, Tsunade came back into the waiting room. "Ok, sorry for the delay. Lee, Guy, why don't you two go next."

Lee and Guy stood up, Guy wrapped his arm around Lee's shoulders, and they followed Tsunade to the room. When they got there, Lee sat down on the bed and Guy went to the side of the bed.

"Lay down for me," Tsunade said. Lee did as he was asked. "Thank you for wearing regular clothes for this," she said as she raised Lee's shirt up.

"Guy Sensei said it would be better to wear a regular shirt and pants from now on," Lee said as he watched Tsunade pour some gel onto his stomach.

"Good thinking," Tsunade said. "While your jumpsuit may be stretchy, it probably won't be too comfortable when you get bigger."

"How big do you think he'll get?" Guy asked.

Tsunade grabbed the probe off the keyboard, brought it over to hover above Lee's stomach, but stopped at the question. "Well, it all depends. If it's anything like a woman's pregnancy, he'll probably get pretty big, but it could be different since he's a male."

"I see," Guy said.

"It doesn't really matter how big he gets as long as the baby is healthy. Now, would you two like to see your baby?"

Lee nodded. "Yes please."

Tsunade smiled and placed the probe on Lee's stomach. She moved it around and found a good place, and the screen showed a very clear picture of the child. "There it is."

Lee stared at the screen. "So, it really is in there."

Tsunade looked at him. "I realize this is probably a bit difficult to accept, but yes, the baby really is inside you."

"This is incredible," Guy said as he stared at the screen. "Can you tell what it is now?"

"No, we won't find out until we do Lee's second ultrasound," Tsunade replied.

"And when will that be?" Lee asked.

"When you're around five months," she said then turned the dial on the machine. "This is your baby's heart beat."

"Is it supposed to be that fast?" Guy asked.

"Yes, the baby's heartbeat is faster now, but it'll slowly start to decrease as it grows," Tsunade explained.

"So it is healthy?" Lee asked.

Tsunade pulled the probe away from his stomach. "Yes, everything looks good so far. It looks like your pregnancy is progressing just like any woman's would."

She handed Lee a towel to wipe off the gel and turned to clean off the probe for the final ultrasound. "Ma'am, if I may ask, how is the baby to be born?" Lee asked.

Tsunade turned to him. "I've been trying to figure that out myself. We could do a C section on you, but I'm going to do a bit more research to see if there is another way. I'm just a little worried about when you start to go into labor."

"Why?" Guy asked concerned.

Tsunade took the towel from Lee and threw it into a hamper that was by the ultrasound machine with the other towels. "Because, usually when a woman goes into labor, her water breaks and she knows that the baby is about to be born, but you being male… I just don't know if that's what's going to happen. I can't even figure out where the fluid would come out, that is if your water breaks at all."

"Does the water always break?" Lee asked.

"Not always, so maybe it'll be that way, and you may not feel anything at all," Tsunade said.

"What do you mean?" Guy asked.

"Well, again, I've never dealt with a male pregnancy before, so I don't even know if you'll start having contractions or if we just have to cut it out." Guy and Lee were silent. "But let's not worry about that for now. We'll figure it out when it comes to it, but I think it's safe to say you probably will have contractions. I've never seen a pregnancy that didn't have contractions."

"Will they hurt?" Lee asked.

"Well, yeah, but with all your training you've done, and you better not be doing that intense training while in your condition," Tsunade warned.

"We haven't, Ma'am," Guy replied quickly.

"Good. But with all your intense training, you should be able to handle the pain," Tsunade continued.

"The other's mentioned a picture of the baby," Guy said. "Will we get one as well?"

"Yes," Tsunade said as she got up and walked toward the door, Lee and Guy following. "I took a few pictures and will give you one when I get the others."

Guy nodded and they walked the rest of the way in silence. They sat back down in their seats when they got back to the room and Tsunade went up to Shikamaru and Asuma.

"I take it Temari didn't get here while I was in the room with Guy and Lee?" Tsunade asked.

"No," Shikamaru replied as he stood up, "but it's ok. As long as someone's here with me it's fine."

"Ok, then shall we go?"

Shikamaru nodded and Asuma got up and followed the two, but before they got completely out of the room, the front entrance doors burst open again, only this time it was a panting Temari that stood in the doorway.

Shikamaru smiled as he watched his wife walk over to them. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into a sandstorm an hour after I left Suna and it lasted for four hours," Temari said after finally catching her breath.

"You could've wrote to tell us you were on your way, or had Gaara do it," Shikamaru said.

"What? I did ask Gaara to write and tell you I was on my way back," Temari replied surprised. "Dang it, Gaara."

"Well it doesn't matter now. You're here and we were just about to go to the room to do the ultrasound," Tsunade said. "You can write to Gaara and yell at him later." Temari nodded and then the four of them headed to the room.

They walked into the room and over to the bed, but Shikamaru stopped and just stared at the machine.  _'This is going to make it completely real.'_

"Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked. He looked over to her. "Please have a seat," she said as she motioned toward the bed.

Shikamaru sat down and Temari and Asuma went to the other side of the bed to stand, Temari being the closest to Shikamaru's face. "You know, this is weird seeing him in the bed," Temari said.

Shikamaru blushed. "Troublesome woman."

Tsunade smiled. "I know what you mean." She then lifted Shikamaru's shirt and applied the gel to his stomach then placed the probe and began moving it around until she found a good spot. She frowned when she saw that the baby didn't move.

"What's wrong?" Asuma said when he saw the frown.

Tsunade didn't answer and moved the probe a little bit more while applying a little pressure. She then turned the dial to hear a strong steady heartbeat. She sighed in relief when she heard it. "Nothing, I just should've realized that a Nara child wouldn't be moving."

Asuma smiled, as did Temari and Shikamaru. "So, it's already going to be a lazy bum," Temari teased.

Tsunade looked over at her. "Looks like it."

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and looked at the screen. "And that's the heartbeat?" he asked.

"Yes, a good strong one too," Tsunade replied and moved the probe a little more trying to get the baby to move a little, and it worked as the baby made a small movement on the screen.

"I thought I'd be able to feel it when it moved?" Shikamaru asked confused.

"At this stage, the baby is too small for you to feel it, but later you'll be able to feel her move," Tsunade said.

"You said 'her.' So does that mean it's a girl?" Asuma asked.

"No, sorry. I have a habit of calling all the babies her until I know for sure what the baby's gender is," Tsunade said looking at him. "And that won't be until the next ultrasound when Shikamaru's around five months."

"You talk as if you knew exactly what we would ask," Shikamaru said.

"Well, after three ultrasounds and the same questions, I kind of figured you'd ask it too," Tsunade said smiling.

"Why again so quickly?" Temari asked.

"Well, that's about the time that I can tell what the gender is, and it's to do a check to make sure nothing is wrong before the final months of the pregnancy. So really, it's just a precaution."

"When will I start showing?" Shikamaru asked.

"You won't be showing enough that you can't hide it for another month or so, but you'll start noticing growth in another few weeks," Tsunade replied and pulled the probe away and wiped it off. She handed him a clean towel to clean himself up.

"And have you figured out a birthing method?" Asuma asked.

"Like I told Guy and Lee, it'll probably have to be a C section unless I can find another way."

Shikamaru sat up and threw his legs over the bed. He placed a hand under his shirt and on his stomach and stared at it.  _'This really is happening. It's not just some bad dream. It actually moved and there was a heartbeat.'_

"Shikamaru?" Temari asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Shikamaru looked up at her and removed his hand. "I'm fine, Tem. It's just…"

"How have you and your parents been getting along?" Tsunade suddenly asked.

Shikamaru looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"Are they ok with this?"

"Well, mom's ok with it, but dad…" Shikamaru said and looked down.

"Hasn't been taking it so easy, huh?" Tsunade finished for him.

Shikamaru looked over to the sidewall away from everyone. "He's been avoiding me lately. He was fine at the wedding, but a few weeks later when I went to ask mom for some advise, he… just started brushing me off, leaving the room whenever I'd enter saying he had other things to do."

"Why do you ask?" Temari asked.

"I've noticed Shikaku's behavior change too," Tsunade replied. "I wondered if your pregnancy was the cause." She put her hand on his shoulder and Shikamaru looked at her. "You need to talk to him about this." Shikamaru only nodded. Tsunade sighed and lowered her arm. "You three go on back to the waiting room. I'm going to get the pictures for you and the others and I'll be there in a minute."

The three nodded and headed out of the room. Lee saw Shikamaru walk into the room with a sad look and went up to him. "Shikamaru, are you ok? Is something wrong with your child?"

Shikamaru looked up at him. "Uh, no, no, everything's fine. I was just thinking about something else." He gave Lee a small smile. "Lady Tsunade went to get the pictures. She said she'd be here in a few minutes."

Everyone was happy to hear this, and the four went back to join the others. They all talked about what they saw in the ultrasounds, Temari being surprised when she heard Kurenai was having twins, and Lee was talking to Shikamaru about what Tsunade told him about what could happen when they got closer to deliver. None of them noticed when Tsunade walked in and were startled when she spoke up right behind them.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Tsunade said smiling. "Here are your pictures." She handed everyone an envelope. "I'll see you all when you are around five months along, unless something goes wrong."

They all gave her their thanks and left the hospital going their separate ways, heading off to tell their friends or family about what happened and to show them the picture of their babies.


	9. Problems Solved

Sakura stood outside her parent's house, Kakashi standing next to her, but couldn't bring herself to knock on the door. Kakashi grabbed her hand and she looked up at him. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure after your parents see the picture they'll change their mind about me and the child."

"I hope your right," she replied. "I hate that my parents want nothing to do with me anymore."

Kakashi let go of her hand, pulled her into a hug, and kissed the top of her head. "I know, but they'll change their mind."

Sakura closed her eyes and stayed in his embrace for a few minutes before she pulled away and went to the door and knocked.

They heard some shuffling from inside the house, and the door finally opened to reveal her father. He gave her a small smile and pulled her into a hug. "Sakura, we've missed you. Why did you wait so long to come and see us?"

Sakura pulled away surprised. "Mom said you guys didn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"No, that's not true," her father said. "She's just upset that her baby was forced to marry at such a young age." He looked over at Kakashi. "She respects you as her teacher, but she just doesn't like the idea of you being her husband."

"I understand. I could leave if you'd like," Kakashi said. "I just want you three to get back on better terms."

"Kaka…" Sakura began, but was cut off by her father.

"No, no. You're a part of this family now whether we like it or not. It's just taking some time for Mebuki to warm up to you in your new role."

"Kizashi, who's at the door?!" The three saw Sakura's mother walk up and Kakashi could see her face light up. "Sakura!" she said and buried Sakura's head in her chest.

"Mother, I can't breath," Sakura said struggling to get our of her mother's grip.

"Sorry," her mother said then smiled. "How have you been? Has that man been taking care of you?" Kakashi cleared his throat and Mebuki looked up and frowned. "Oh, you brought him with you."

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Haruno," Kakashi said but made no move to come any closer.

Mebuki stepped away from Sakura and crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"Mebuki, please. We haven't seen Sakura in over a month. Can't you put your hate for him aside?" Kizashi asked.

Mebuki let out a loud sigh but stepped aside. "Fine, come in if you must, but you're not staying long."

Sakura walked back to Kakashi. "This was a bad idea. We'll just leave."

At those words, Mebuki lowered her arms and took a step forward. "No, wait." The three looked at her. "I'm sorry." She closed her eyes and calmed herself down then opened them again. "Sakura, please stay."

"Not if Kakashi isn't welcome," Sakura replied.

Mebuki looked over at Kakashi then back at Sakura. "Ok, he can stay too, but please, don't go. We've missed you so much."

"Like I said earlier," Kizashi spoke up, "we just needed time to get use to the idea."

Sakura looked at the two then at Kakashi. "We'll go if you want," Kakashi said.

"No," she smiled and looked back at her parents, "I'd like to stay."

Kakashi took her hand again and the four all went inside. Mebuki went to the kitchen to get some tea, while the others sat in the living room.

"I've been trying for so long to get her to realize what she was doing," Kizashi said. "She's been so miserable without you here, but she knew that you would never come over without Kakashi, and she just couldn't forgive him for what happened."

"It wasn't his fault," Sakura said.

"I know that, but you know your mother. She needed someone to blame and the one taking her girl away was the best one in her mind."

"I didn't mean to take her away from you guys," Kakashi said.

"I know that, and she does too, she just won't admit it," Kizashi replied.

"Well I am now." Everyone looked up and watched as Mebuki walked in and sat the tray of cups and teapot on the coffee table. "I'm sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me." She walked over to Kakashi, grabbed his hand, and pulled him up so he was standing. She looked up at him and took both his hands hers. "If you make Sakura happy, then it makes me happy."

"Mom," Sakura said and stood up and hugged her. "Thank you."

Mebuki hugged her daughter tightly, then pulled back and looked in her eyes. "So, was there a specific reason why you came over today?"

Sakura smiled. She pulled the picture out of her pocket and handed it to her mother. "We thought you would want to see the first picture of your grandchild."

Mebuki took the picture and stared at it. When she saw the little grey form in the picture, she covered her mouth and tears formed in her eyes. Kizashi walked over and stared at the picture over his wife's shoulder and smiled.

"Well, will you look at that. You got a peanut inside you. You do know you're supposed to chew before you swallow, right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face proved that she was still happy. Her parents were finally accepting Kakashi, and they were taking an interest in their baby. Things were definitely looking up for the Hatake and Haruno families.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru and Temari were walking to his parents' house hand in hand. Asuma had gone back to his own house after they left the hospital, and Temari was trying to catch up on what she missed.

"Good. So, what about you and Asuma?" she asked.

Shikamaru looked over at her. "What about me and Asuma?"

"Are you two on better terms now?"

"We were never on bad terms," he said looking forward again.

Temari looked at him with a look that said, 'Don't play dumb with me.'

"What?" he said when he could feel her staring at him.

"Don't you dare say there was nothing wrong. You would hardly go near Asuma and he wouldn't go near you."

"Ok, fine. It's not like that any more. We're closer than ever now." Temari stopped causing Shikamaru to lose his grip on her hand. He turned to look at her. "What's wrong now?"

"What do you mean 'closer than ever?'"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Not like that you troublesome woman. I mean ever since my dad started avoiding me, he's been more of a father figure than he was before. In fact, I've spent the last few nights there because the apartment is empty without you, and I don't feel welcome at my parents' any more."

"Oh," she replied and continued walking. "Lady Tsunade mentioned you not getting along with your father. What happened?"

"I have no idea. Like I said, I came over one day to ask mom something and that's when he started avoiding me and making excuses to leave. Mom has no idea what's going on with him either."

They made it to the Nara household and they both stopped in front of the door. "Maybe this time will be different," Temari tried to be positive.

"Doubt it," he replied and knocked on the door.

The door opened and Yoshino stood there. "Shikamaru," she said and went up to him and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. She saw Temari over his shoulder. "Temari, when did you get back?" she asked as she pulled away from her son and walked over to her.

"A little while ago. Right before Shikamaru's ultrasound actually," she said hugging the older woman back.

"That was today? How did it go?" Yoshino said as she led them into the house.

"It went ok. Thought you might want to see the ultrasound picture of the baby," Shikamaru said.

"Of course!" Yoshino said a bit too loudly.

Shikamaru pulled the picture out of his pocket and handed it over to his mother, then looked around. "Where's dad?"

Yoshino looked up from the photo. "He's taking a nap on the couch." She walked toward the living room and over to the couch. "Shikaku!" she yelled at him as she slapped him.

Shikaku jerked from the slap. "Oww, woman. What was that for?" he said as he sat up rubbing his sore chest.

"Shikamaru and Temari are here and they brought a picture of the baby," Yoshino explained as she sat down next to him.

"Baby?" Shikaku asked then looked up at the two still in the doorway.

"Yes, your grandchild," Yoshino said a bit aggravated. She shoved the picture toward his face.

Shikaku took the picture to get a better look at it and frowned. He handed the picture back to Yoshino, got up, and headed toward the front door.

"Dad?" Shikamaru said trying to get his father's attention, but Shikaku just ignored him.

"Shikaku Nara, where do you thing you are going?!" Yoshino said as she put her fists on her hips and stared him down.

"I was supposed to meet up with Choza and Inoichi, but I feel asleep," Shikaku replied as he continued to the door, not turning around.

Shikamaru frowned and moved forward to follow him. Temari took a step to follow, but Yoshino grabbed her arm. "No, they need to work this out themselves." Temari looked back at the now closed door. "Why don't you help me with lunch?"

Temari nodded and followed Yoshino into the kitchen.

Outside, Shikamaru caught up to Shikaku and grabbed his arm. "Dad, wait."

Shikaku stopped, looked at Shikamaru's hand on his arm, then up to his face. "I'm already late. Let go."

"No, that's just some excuse you're using to avoid me again. What did I do to make you hate me?"

Shikaku's eyes went wide. "I don't hate you."

Shikamaru released his father's arm and looked at him hurt. "Then why are you avoiding me?"

Shikaku looked away ashamed. "Because this whole thing isn't natural. I just… I don't know how to take all this."

"And you think it's easy for me? I know it's not natural, but that should mean you should be by my side even more, trying to help me through this, but instead you're avoiding me like I have the plague."

Shikaku looked up at him. He couldn't think of anything he could say. He knew he wasn't being the best father, and he hated himself for it. He looked down at Shikamaru's stomach.

Shikamaru saw where his father's gaze was and looked down as well. "I hate this."

Shikaku shot his head up. "What?"

"I hate what I'm going through. I don't want to be pregnant. Temari's suppose to be the one going through this not me. I'm suppose to be there for her and help her through all this." He looked away.

"She hasn't really been there either has she?"

"No, the only ones that have been there for me are Asuma, Choji, and mom. Mom can tell me what to expect concerning the pregnancy, but whether I'm the one have the baby or not, I'm still going to be a dad. Asuma's never had a kid, Choji borrowed a few books from the library for me, but that's not the same as hearing advice from someone who knows what it's like." He looked up at Shikaku. "I want to learn it from you, dad. I just want you to stop avoiding me."

Shikaku quickly pulled Shikamaru in a hug and Shikamaru wrapped his arms tightly around his father. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru. I was scared about what was happening to you that I didn't think about any of that. I'll be a better father for you." He pulled back enough to look at his son in the face and smiled. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Shikamaru smiled. He pulled away completely and the two walked back to the house. "You know, mom will probably want to frame that picture and hang it up like she did with my first ultrasound picture."

Shikaku laughed. "I have no doubt about that."

"And you'd be ok with that?"

They stopped on the porch and Shikaku turned to him. "Yes. It may be weird for a while, but after the kid's here, I'm sure it will seem normal."

"Well, as normal as it can be with the kid having a mom and two dads," he said then walked into the house.

"What?" Shikaku asked following him in and back to the living room.

"Dad, Asuma is the father too. I'm not just going to kick him out of the kid's life. He has every right to be there for him as me or Temari."

Shikaku frowned. "I guess I can see your point, but he's never going to touch you like that again, or I swear I'll…"

"Relax, he's already promised he'd never do that again," he said as he grabbed the shogi board out from under the side table.

They both sat down and set up the board. "Good," Shikaku said as he made the first move.

"We're actually doing a lot better. He's been trying to be there more for me since you started avoiding me and Temari was gone."

Shikaku gave a small smile. "Good ol' Asuma. He's always been there for you."

"Yeah," Shikamaru said and made his move. After he moved the piece, something caught his eye. He moved over closer to the couch and saw that Yoshino had left the picture on the cushion. He picked it up and handed it to his dad. "At least try to look at it."

Shikaku looked at the picture a second before he grabbed it and looked at it. "I guess it doesn't look any different than if it was a woman's womb."

Shikamaru smiled. "Just don't start calling me a shemale."

"Huh?" Shikaku asked as he placed the picture on the side table and made his move.

"Something Kiba said after this whole thing started. It's really troublesome."

Shikaku chuckled. "Well just don't let it bother you."

"I won't."

Temari was peeking around the doorframe with Yoshino and they both smiled. Finally the Nara men were getting along again.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba and Kurenai sat in the living room of the Inuzuka house. Akamaru was lying down on the ground next to Kurenai, and Kiba's parents were sitting on the two chairs across from them.

"Well, Akamaru seems to have grown attached to you," Tsume said.

"Yeah, it's great. He really likes Kurenai," Kiba said happily.

"He's being protective of her," Inuken said.

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked.

"Well, when our dogs are around pregnant females, they become protective," Inuken explained.

"By our dogs, you mean the Inuzuka dogs, right?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes," Tsume explained. "We train our dogs to watch out for Inuzuka family members that have become weak, sick, or vulnerable."

"Ma, Kurenai is not any of those things. She's strong, pregnant, and can take care of herself," Kiba argued.

"It's alright, Kiba. I understand what your mother said," Kurenai said placing a hand on his knee.

Kiba looked at her. "Ok, if you say so. So when's Hana gonna get here. We have something very important to announce."

"What could be so important, son?" Inuken asked. "We already know she's pregnant."

"It's about the pregnancy, dad, and…"

"Sorry I'm late," Hana said as she walked in.

"About time, sis," Kiba complained completely forgetting what he was saying to his dad.

"Sorry little brother," she replied as she ruffled up Kiba's hair.

Kiba bat her hand away and glared at her, which only made Hana laugh. "So, what'd I miss?"

"Nothing, he wouldn't tell us until you got here," Inuken said.

"Alright then," Hana said and looked over at Kiba. "I'm here now, so spill."

Kiba got a huge grin on his face. "Kurenai's having puppies."

"What?" Tsume asked with a smile. "Really?"

"He means I'm having twins," Kurenai explained glaring at Kiba. "Can you please stop calling our children puppies Kiba?"

"Why? We're a dog clan so it fits, besides, you said I could say it around family members just not in public," Kiba said.

Kurenai crossed her arms. "I meant when you're just joking around not when you're trying to tell them something important."

"It's alright, Kurenai. We understood what he meant," Hana tried to comfort her, but to no avail.

Kurenai huffed and got up from the couch and walked out the front door, Akamaru following her.

"What's with her?" Kiba asked.

Tsume got up, smacked Kiba on the head, getting a cry from Kiba, and went to find Kurenai.

"What?" Kiba asked rubbing the lump on his head. "What did I say?"

Inuken just shook his head.

Tsume found Kurenai and Akamaru sitting next to the small pond in the backyard, Kurenai petting Akamaru's head and talking to him softly.

"Mind if I join you?" Tsume asked as she approached.

Kurenai turned to look at her. "Sure," she said, and Tsume sat down next to Akamaru.

"Don't be too mad at Kiba. He's still just a pup himself and doesn't understand."

"So is that why he is constantly calling our children pups, because you and your husband called your children pups?"

"Afraid so," Tsume said with a small smile. "But when we were being serious we never did, so I don't know why he's doing that." Kurenai looked away and stared at the fish swimming in the pond. "Can I ask you something?" She got no answer so she took it as a yes. "Why does it bother you so much that he calls the children pups?"

Kurenai looked over at her. "I've been Kiba's teacher since he graduated from the academy. I've seen how close he and Akamaru are. It just feels like he is trying to be a dog more than a man, and calling our children pups all the time makes me feel like he doesn't want to think of them as humans, but dogs like Akamaru."

"I'll tell you this, Kurenai. Kiba hasn't grown up yet. He may be married and expecting kids, but he's still young. His father and I weren't expecting him to leave the house so early, so we never really prepared him…"

"This shouldn't be something you should have to be prepared for," Kurenai interrupted. "It should be a natural change, like Akamaru. I know you said you train your dogs, but he still caught on quickly. He probably saw other dogs doing it and learned from that."

"That is true. I'm a little disappointed at how Kiba has been acting around you, but have you talked to him about it?"

Kurenai looked down. "No, I guess not." She looked up. "I guess I don't really have any reason to be complaining when I haven't tried to talk to him, huh?"

Tsume smiled. "There's your problem. You two need to talk." She placed and hand on Kurenai's shoulder. "You're both new with marriage. You need to talk or it won't work."

"Alright, I get it. Heh, I'm the teacher and I'm being taught."

Tsume laughed. "Everyone learns something new, even teachers." She turned and saw Kiba coming towards them. "I'll leave you guys along to talk." She got up and walked back to the house.

Kiba walked up to Kurenai and sat down next to Akamaru and started petting his head. "Sorry 'bout earlier," he said not looking at her.

"No, I'm sorry. I should've talked to you about this earlier," she replied with a smile. "We are married now. We need to work together, and that means I need you to…"

"Be more mature," Kiba finished and looked up at her. "That's what I'm sorry for, not being mature. I guess I was so use to goofing off with my friends and not taking my responsibilities seriously, except when on missions, but even then I sometimes loose my cool."

"Sometimes?" Kurenai asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey, I do have my moments," he defended.

Kurenai laughed. "I know."

"But seriously," Kiba continued. "From now on I'll be more mature about things. Although, I can't promise I'll be completely mature all the time."

"I'm not asking you to," she replied and leaned over so her face was closer to his. "Your immature side is the fun side," she smirked.

Kiba smiled and kissed her. "I promise," he began seriously, "I'll try to do better."

"That's all I ask," Kurenai said and moved over Akamaru and onto Kiba's lap. "Now come on, pup, let's get back inside." She pecked his lips and stood up and walked to the house, looking back at him with a sly smile.

"Man she's amazing," Kiba said with a smile then hopped up and ran after her, Akamaru following.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Guy and Lee sat in their living room watching a show on the TV, although Guy wasn't really paying that much attention to the show. He was actually watching Lee more than the show.

Lee felt Guy's eyes on him and turned to look at him. "Is something wrong, Guy Sensei?"

"Huh, no. No, everything's fine," Guy said and turned back to the TV.

Lee scrunched up his face in concern.  _'Guy Sensei has been acting pretty weird lately, even more so after the ultrasound this afternoon. I wonder if he is really ok?'_

Guy yawned then stood up. "I think I'm going to go for a quick jog around the village," he said then looked down at Lee. "Will you be ok here by yourself?"

Lee looked down. "Yeah, but I wish I could go with you."

Guy leaned down and placed both hands on Lee's shoulders. "Don't worry, Lee. When this whole thing is over, you and I will get back to our normal training regimen."

Lee smiled. "Yes!"

"Heh heh. Well, I'm off. I should be back in a little while."

"I will await your return," Lee said energetically as he stood up and saluted.

"You don't have to wait up if you don't feel like it. You need to stay rested."

Lee slumped a little. "Right, of course." He sat back down. "Enjoy your jog, Guy Sensei."

Guy gave him a thumbs up and gave him his signature smile. "Will do, and I'll do some jogging for you as well."

Lee gave him a small smile then turned his attention back to the TV.

Guy frowned at the disappointed look on Lee's face, then turned and headed out the door.

He jogged for a while, but it wasn't helping to get rid of the thoughts going through his head, in fact, it was making him think about them even more.  _'This marriage is going to end in a disaster if I don't do something. Lee is so depressed that he can't train and do the things he could before he got pregnant, and it's all my fault. Plus, I hurt him when we were forced to have sex and now I'm afraid to even touch him. I need help.'_

He continued down the street until he came across a familiar house.  _'That's it! I can ask him for help. He seemed to know what he was doing that day.'_

He jogged over to the door and knocked. He smiled when the door opened and he saw the occupant. "Ah, good, you're home."

"Guy? What are you doing here?" Asuma asked.

"I was wondering if we could talk for a bit," Guy explained.

"Uhh, sure." He stepped back and opened the door wider. "Come on in."

Asuma closed the door then led Guy to the couch. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked as they sat down.

"Well, I was just wondering, do you know how to have gay sex?"

Asuma's eyes went wide.  _'Ok, that's not what I was expecting.'_  "What do you mean?"

"Well, I hurt Lee when we were forced to have sex, but when I looked over at you and Shikamaru, he didn't seem to be in as much pain."

"He was in pain, but I understand what you mean."

"So, will you show me how to do it right?" Guy pretty much begged.

"Why are you wanting to know?"

"Lee hasn't been the same since he found out about the pregnancy, that he couldn't train like he's use to because of it, the marriage, and I feel really bad because I'm his husband and I haven't…"

"Ok, stop right there," Asuma said holding up his arms. "Are you sure he even wants that?"

"I… I don't really know, but we are married. We're going to be together for a very long time, and I don't know if we could live in a sexless marriage."

"You could always have sex with women in the bars."

"No, that wouldn't be right," Guy said. He sat back and sighed. "I want to be loyal to Lee. I love Lee like a son, but I'm married to him now. Shouldn't my feelings change from loving him like a son to loving him like… well… a lover?"

Asuma rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhhh… Well, I guess if you both want to do that then that's your decision, but you really should talk to Lee about this not me."

"I came to you so you can show me how to have proper sex with the same sex, that way if he does agree, I won't hurt him again."

Asuma's face paled a bit. "What do you mean 'show' you?"

"I mean have sex with me. I learn the best by doing," Guy said and sat forward again, clapped his hands in front of his face, and closed his eyes. "Please, Asuma, I'm begging you."

Asuma stood up and walked over to the window and looked out.  _'Sex with Guy? I don't know if I can do that. I mean it's Guy!'_  He turned back around and saw Guy's pleading face and sighed.  _'I'm going to regret this.'_  "Alright, I'll help you." Guy yelled and jumped for joy. "But were not doing a whole lot."  _'I don't know if I could handle a lot.'_

"Alright, so what do we do first?" Guy said. "Do we strip down?"

"NO!" Asuma yelled when he saw Guy reaching for the zipper on the back of his jumpsuit. "I mean, not yet." Guy lowered his arm. "Have a seat on the couch."

Guy complied and sat down on the couch. Asuma walked over to him and sat down next to him. "The first thing you want to do is something we couldn't really do that much when we were captured."

"And that is?"

"Well, it's touching your partner."

"You mean like this," Guy said and reached over and placed his hand on the spot of Asuma's pants where his member hid behind.

"Ah!" Asuma quickly grabbed Guy's hand and moved it away. "No, not that quick."  _'Why did I agree to this?'_

Asuma placed Guy's hand back on Guy's lap then scooted closer to him. "Start slow. Place your arm around his shoulder like this." He draped his arm over Guy's shoulder. "You have to make sure he's ok with this before you even think about having sex. In other words, he needs to be comfortable with you being closer than you would in any other situation."

"Oh, I get it."

"Good, then after he is comfortable, you lean in and kiss him. Make sure it's gentle to start, so that he can get use to the idea."

"How will I know what gentle is?"

_'_ _Did he really just ask that? Can't he figure that out? Please tell me he's not going to make me show him everything.'_

"Can you show me?"

 _'_ _Guess so. Uhhh… I have no choice.'_  "Alright, how about we just make out, then you should know what I mean. I'll be in control so don't try to overpower me, or the lesson ends there, got it."

"Yes, of course."

Asuma took in a deep calming breath and let it out before he reached over and gently turned Guy's head and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. He continued to kiss him gently then lightly rubbed his tongue over Guy's bottom lip.

Guy hesitated, but opened his mouth so that Asuma could explore his mouth.  _'So, it is just like kissing a woman. I understand.'_

They continued kissing for another few minutes before Asuma broke the kiss.  _'Ok, crazy enough, that wasn't so bad.'_  "Ok, so you got that. Now, while you're kissing you use your free hand to roam your partner's body. Run it up and down his chest, play with one of his nipples, whatever, but slowly move your hand down to his member."

"Why not just go straight for it? Most women like that."

"Yeah, but not if they aren't completely comfortable with it. Lee is going to be a little scared of the whole idea because of last time, so you need to go slowly to show him you won't hurt him. You need to make him want it."

"Make him want it. Got it. So how long do we do this before we get to the sex?"

 _'_ _What is with him? Does he want to screw Lee that badly?'_ "Well, again that will depend on him. After you start touching his member, and he enjoys it and doesn't push you away or ask you to stop, try pulling him onto your lap."

"Like you would a woman."

"Exactly."  _'Ok, this is good, maybe I won't have to do that much with him.'_

"Ok, show me."

Asuma closed his eyes.  _'Guess not.'_  "Ok."

Asuma went in for another kiss only this time started moving his hand around Guy's chest. He could tell the effect he was having on him when Guy took sharp breaths and Asuma had to smile.  _'Ok, at least I know I can make anyone enjoy my touch.'_ He moved his hand down to Guy's member, hesitated, then began rubbing it. He could feel it getting hard and Guy started moving closer to him.

Asuma took this opportunity to quickly get Guy onto his lap. Guy broke off the kiss when he landed in Asuma's lap. "There, as easy as that."

"Wow, you did it so effortlessly."

"Well, I've been doing this for about five years. After this stage you should know how to proceed."  _'Please.'_

"Yeah, I think I can figure that out," Guy said and moved off of Asuma and back next to him. "So, what's next?"

"The next part would be taking off the clothes and then entering your partner."

"Alright," Guy replied and stood up and quickly unzipped his jumpsuit and took it off so he was only in his white underwear.

 _'_ _That's a sight I could've lived without.'_ "What are you doing?"

"Doing what you said."

"You should know how to do all that."

"Not the entering part."

"Have you never entered a woman from behind?"

"Uhhh… No."

 _'_ _Well, I should've expected that.'_  "You've at least had sex before right?"

"Yeah. When Anko got trashed a few years ago, I had sex with her, but I didn't enter her from behind."

 _'_ _I bet she regretted that the next morning.'_  "Alright." Asuma stood up and took his clothes off too. He now stood in front of Guy in his boxers. "So a very important item you need to get is lube."

"Lube. Right."

"You do know what that is, right?"

"Yeah. Uhhh… I think anyway."

Asuma sighed. He went out of the room and came back a minute later with a small tube. "This is a bottle of lube." He tossed it to Guy who caught it easily. "You'll need that so that you won't hurt him.

"Ok," Guy replied and handed the lube back to Asuma.

 _'_ _I know he's going to ask me anyway, so…'_  "Alright, take off you underwear and get down on the ground on your hands and knees."

Guy didn't argue and quickly slipped off his underwear and got on the floor in the requested position.

Asuma came up behind him and squirted some lube onto his fingers. "Now I need you to watch as best as possible." Guy turned his head as best he could. "You need to prepare him before you enter him."

"But only the first time, right?"

"Wrong. If time passes since you entered him, his hole will go back to normal… Well, normalish. You have to prepare him every time or you could hurt him." Asuma stuck one finger in Guy's hole. He heard Guy's sharp intake of breath. "This is just one finger. Imagine what it felt like to Lee when you jabbed your huge member into him, but one finger is just a surprise, it's when you add the second finger," and he add another finger to show him, "when it starts to sting."

Guy hissed and squeezed his eyes shut. "I see what you mean."

"Now, you let him adjust to the size of the two fingers before you start moving it. Oh, and you should also move your finger when you have one figure in him." Asuma then started moving his two finger in and out of Guy's hole, scissoring them every once in a while.

"So that's how you stretch them."

"Yeah, move your fingers like scissors all different ways, and then when you think he can handle it, add a third finger."

"A third?"

"Yes, you really think he can be stretched enough with just two fingers? No, you add a third so that you get the hole closer to the size of your member."

Guy moaned suddenly. "O-ok."

 _'_ _Wow, this is actually turning me on more than I thought it would.'_  He continued to move the two fingers a little longer then added the third finger. He stopped the movement to let him adjust, then moved them again when he felt Guy thrust his butt back.

Guy was now thrusting himself in time to Asuma's fingers, moaning like mad. He yelled out in pleasure when Asuma hit his sweet spot.

"W-what was th-that?" Guy asked trying not to moan.

"What I hit was your prostrate. You hit that and you will send immense pleasure through their body."

"How… How will I-I know where i-it is?"

"You just have to search for it, but once you find it," and he hit Guy's sweet spot again, causing Guy to cry out again, "you can pleasure him a lot."

Asuma pulled his fingers out. "W-why'd you s-stop?" Guy asked panting.

"'Cause you're ready to be entered."

Asuma took off his boxers and Guy watched as Asuma's member shot up. "Wow, you're that hard already?"

"Have to admit, you're moans were really turning me on." Guy smiled. "Now here is another important thing. Always make sure you put lube on your member and on your partner's hole before entering. This makes it easier for your member to go in."

"Ok, got it."

"Now seeing how this is your first time being entered, this will hurt."

"But I thought you said that you were showing me how not to hurt him."

"The first time being entered will always hurt, but after you've done it, it shouldn't hurt as much if at all." He moved his lubed member over Guys hole and placed it on the outside of the entrance. "You ready?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah."

"Ok, remember, take it slow at first unless he just asks you to jab it in, or he just likes it rough, but I'll take it slow now."

"Thanks."

Asuma slowly entered the tip of his member into Guy's entrance. Guy let out a hiss, but said nothing, so Asuma continued to push himself into him. At the first shout of pain, Asuma stopped and waited for Guy to adjust to his size, and continued when Guy nodded. He had to stop two more times before he finally sheathed his whole member into Guy's hole.

"Wow, you are really tight."

"Man, Lee, I'm so sorry. It must have been so much worse for him."

Asuma didn't say anything. He waited another minute before he pulled himself out, but slammed back in before completely pulling out. Guy let out a loud shout. Asuma started thrusting in and out of him, slowly getting faster. Soon, he was pounding into Guy.

Guy was moaning like crazy, yelling out Asuma's name, begging for more, and screamed more every time Asuma hit his sweet spot.

Asuma grabbed Guy's member with one hand and began jerking him off in time to his thrusts, making Guy moan even louder. Guy raised himself off the ground and pushed himself closer to Asuma. Asuma responded by using his other hand to wrap around Guy's waist and pull him closer.

They continued that for another ten minutes before they both found their release, Asuma coming deep inside Guy, and Guy coming all over Asuma's floor. Asuma held them there for a few minutes before he pulled out and flopped down on the couch.

"Wow, you're a better screw than I thought," Asuma said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. You now know how to properly have sex with the same sex," Asuma said.

Guy stood up, his legs a little wobbly, and put his clothes back on. "Thank you, Asuma."

Asuma just waved him off as Guy walked toward the door. After he heard the door close, he shut his eyes. "Man, I need a shower."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Guy returned back home and found Lee asleep on the couch. He smiled as he approached Lee. He shut off the TV, picked Lee up bridle style, and carried him to the room Lee was using. He placed him carefully on the bed, covered him up, and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Things will be different now. I just hope you will be ok with it. I really do love you, Lee."

He shut the light off and left the room to go take a shower.


	10. A New Bond and A Broken Promise

The next day, Temari, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Ten Ten, and Kurenai all went out to hang out and do some shopping. They had asked Shikamaru and Lee if they wanted to go, but they, being men, said no. So they went to get some lunch and showed the pictures from the ultrasound to Ino, Hinata, and Ten Ten.

"I wish we could see Lee and Guy's baby," Ten Ten said.

"You haven't gone to visit them?" Hinata asked.

"Nah, me and Neji…" Ten Ten began, but was cut off.

"Ooooo, you and Neji?" Ino teased.

Ten Ten smacked Ino's arm. "Shut up. We were only doing some training."

Ino turned to Hinata. "Yeah, 'training,'" she said using air quotes.

"That's all it was!" Ten Ten yelled.

"Alright, Ten Ten," Kurenai said. "She's only trying to rile you up."

"Yeah, don't let that pig get to you," Sakura agreed.

"Hey, who you calling a pig, billboard brow?" Ino asked angrily.

"Well, you are the only pig around, Ino  _Pig_ ," Sakura replied stressing the last word.

"Why you… You better be glad you have your baby protecting you," Ino said standing up.

"Ino, please," Hinata said grabbing Ino's arm and trying to pull her back into the seat. "Everyone's staring."

Ino looked around and saw the other customers in the restaurant looking at her and quickly sat down. "You better make me the godmother," Ino said as she crossed her hands.

Sakura smiled. "There's no one we'd rather have."

Ino smiled and relaxed, going back to normal. "So, where we going shopping first?"

Suddenly, the restaurant door opened and a shinobi came in, looked around, and walked straight to the girls' table. "Excuse me. Lady Temari?"

"I'm Temari," she replied raising her hand.

The shinobi walked around the table and handed her a letter. "The Hokage asked me to bring this to you. It's an urgent letter from the Sand Village."

"Thanks." She took the letter and the shinobi left. She quickly broke the seal and read the content.

"Is everything ok?" Ino asked.

Temari stood up. "I'm sorry, guys, I've got to go." And without another word she left.

"I wonder what's up?" Sakura asked.

"I hope everything's ok," Hinata said.

"I'm sure it's fine," Ino replied. "So, where are we going to go shopping first?"

Everyone looked at her then started discussing where they would go.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Temari walked into her and Shikamaru's apartment, past the living room where Shikamaru was, and into the bedroom. Shikamaru noticed the determined look on her face and quickly followed her to the bedroom.

"Tem, what's wrong," Shikamaru asked as he leaned on the doorframe.

"Gaara sent me an urgent letter. I have to return to Suna," Temari said as she continued packing her bag.

Shikamaru scrunched up his face. "But you just got back."

Temari stopped and looked over to him. "You know you sound pitiful, right?"

Shikamaru walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist causing her to stop packing and straighten up. "I missed you when you went before. I finally got you back and now you have to leave again?"

Temari turned around in his arms to face him. "I'm sorry, Shika, but the problem is a delegate from the Earth Village."

"I'm sure Gaara can find someone else to handle the delegate. Kankuro could…"

Temari looked at him like he was stupid. "Seriously? Kankuro?"

"You know what I mean. Gaara can find someone else. You don't have to go. You live here now. He has to know that he can't just summon you whenever he wants."

Temari brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. "And if it was any other situation I would tell him that, but this is a very delicate situation."

"What do you mean?"

"I've worked with this delegate before. In fact, I prevented a war between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind because of it. Gaara said that the delegate would only speak with me or he would proclaim war on the Land of Wind. I have to go. It may not be my home anymore, but…"

"I get it," Shikamaru replied dejected. "It's still your homeland and you want to protect it. I'd probably do the same if our roles were switched."

Temari smiled and kissed him. "Thanks for understanding." She broke free of his hold and continued packing. "Oh, and I shouldn't be gone as long this time. Two weeks tops."

"Two weeks is still a long time."

Temari turned her head toward him and smiled. "I'm sure you can handle being away from me for two weeks, besides, I'll technically only be in Suna for a week. Six of the days I'll be traveling to and from here."

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru said and began walking out of the room.

"I guess if you get too lonely you can go over to Asuma's."

Shikamaru stopped before he left the room and turned to her. "Huh?"

Temari slung the now packed bag over her shoulder, grabbed her giant fan, and walked toward him. "Like you did last time. You said you two were closer now. I'm sure he won't mind."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "You didn't seem too happy when I said that."

"You want me to say it?" Temari asked crossing her arms.

Shikamaru dropped his arm. "Say what?" he asked completely confused.

"That I'm jealous when you are around the man that raped you and impregnated you."

"What?"

"Well I am. I don't like that you are being so calm about it, but I'll respect your wishes. I don't think he's a bad guy, in fact, I like him a lot, but it still makes me uneasy."

Shikamaru took a step toward her and wrapped his arms around her again. "You don't have to worry about it. Asuma is like my second father, nothing more. He promised me he would never do that again, and he won't. I trust him."

"I know," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head on his chest. "I can't believe I'm this paranoid about it. I hate it. I've never acted like this before."

Shikamaru smiled. "I kind of like it."

Temari shot her head up. "What?"

"Never mind. You should get going," he said as he released her and walked out of the room.

When they reached the front gate, they said their goodbyes and then went their separate ways.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

A few days later, Guy walked into the living room and sat down next to Lee. "What you watching?"

"It is a show about a spy that has to rescue a woman that was captured by a group of enemies. It is really quite interesting," Lee said not turning away from the screen.

"Oh," Guy replied.

After a few more minutes, Guy placed his arm around Lee's shoulders, and to his shock, Lee didn't tense this time. Over the last few days, he had tried to get Lee use to the idea of him getting closer, and it looked like he finally did it.

_'_ _Asuma was right. If I go slow, Lee might accept it.'_

"Guy Sensei?"

"Hmm?" Guy asked looking at Lee.

"W-why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I realize that you are just doing it to get closer to me, but why? Is our relationship not good enough any more?"

Guy removed his arm from Lee's shoulders and scooted back a little. "No, of course not. Our relationship is fine."

"Then what did you mean by you wanted to get closer?"

Guy sighed.  _'Guess I should finally tell him.'_  "Lee, I… There's something I need to tell you."

Lee turned so that he could focus on Guy better. "What is it?"

Guy placed his hands on each of Lee's shoulders. "Lee, I love you."

"As a son. I know that, Guy Sensei. You said it the day we were captured."

Guy shook his head. "No, Lee, not just as a son. I mean I've started to have feelings for you… as a… lover."

Lee's eyes went wide and he scooted back away from Guy, causing Guy's hands to fall. "W-what do you mean?"

"Lee, we are married now. I want to be a good husband for you."

"You are, Guy Sensei," Lee interrupted. "You have provided for me, and taken good care of me. I am grateful for it."

Guy frowned, letting the hurt come through his eyes. "So you're happy with the way things are? Knowing that you can never be with any woman without being called unfaithful?"

Lee looked down. "I thought that is where you were."

Now Guy was confused. "Huh? When?"

Lee couldn't look at Guy. "The night you went out on your jog around the village. When you came back you smelled like… another person."

 _'_ _Oh, man. He could smell Asuma on me?'_  "No, Lee. I would never be unfaithful to you. Were you only pretending to be asleep?"

"Yes, but only after you came closer and picked me up. I woke up when you picked me up, but smelled the other person on you and pretended to sleep."

"Lee…" Guy began, but again was interrupted.

"If you wish to be with someone else, I will not stop you."

Guy opened his mouth to respond, but saw the tear fall down Lee's face. "Oh, Lee," he said and pulled Lee into a hug.

Lee couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into tears as soon as his face hit Guy's chest. "I'm sorry, Guy Sensei," he said through sobs. "I don't want to be a problem for you if you want to be with someone else."

"No, Lee. It's a misunderstanding. I wasn't with another woman that night."

Lee raised his head and looked at Guy in the eyes. "Y-you weren't?"

Guy smiled at him. "No. I won't lie to you, I was with someone else, but he was teaching me."

"Teaching you?"

"Yes, how to be more gentle with you. How to have sex with you right."

"Y-you want to have sex with me?" Lee asked pushing away from him a bit frightened.

"Only if you want to too. I don't want to hurt you, not physically and not mentally."

"W-who taught you," Lee asked as he wiped his eyes with his shirtsleeve.

"Asuma," Guy replied carefully.

"I see," he replied as he lowered his head then raised it again confused. "But does he not love Shikamaru?"

"Yes, he does, and he was reluctant to help me, but I am glad he agreed. I'm sorry for what I did to you, Lee. What I felt when he was being gentle with me had to be ten times worse for you."

"It hurt a lot."

Guy leaned forward and kissed Lee's forehead. "If you don't want to do it, I understand. I hurt you and you probably don't want to go through that again."

Lee was silent. He wasn't sure what to do. The thought of having sex again scared him, but he knew that Guy would never hurt him intentionally. "I-I'll try," he said looking up.

"Really?" Guy asked smiling.

"Yes. I want to make you happy, and," he continued when he saw Guy open his mouth to protest, "I want to try it again. After the pain passed, it did feel good."

Guy smiled and stood up. "Let's go to the bedroom. It'll be more comfortable there." He then held out his hand.

Lee looked at the hand, looked up at Guy, then smiled and took the hand. They disappeared into Guy's bedroom. It was the first of many passionate nights in the Bushy Brow household

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

It had been a week since Temari left, and Shikamaru was getting a little depressed without Temari around.  _'Stupid hormones.'_  He finally got up, went to his room and put a few clothes into a bag, and headed out the door and headed to Asuma's.

When he knocked on the door, he at first thought Asuma wasn't home.  _'He could be on a mission, you idiot. He's not on the no missions list, you are.'_

He was about to turn around and head back home, but the sound of the door opening stopped him. "Shikamaru?" Asuma asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Uhh, Temari got called off to some important mission at Suna. I was bored at the apartment and thought maybe I could stay here for a few nights?"

"Sure," Asuma replied and opened the door wider so he could enter.

Shikamaru smiled and walked in. "Thanks. It'll only be for a few nights. I just don't want to be in that apartment alone any more."

"I understand," Asuma said as he closed the door and followed Shikamaru into the living room. "Uhh, you can take the bed, I'll take the couch."

Shikamaru turned to look at him. "No, I couldn't…"

"Stop right there," Asuma said. "You're pregnant, Shikamaru. You can't sleep on an old beat up couch. You could hurt yourself, or worse, the baby."

Shikamaru blushed slightly. "Uhhh, thanks."

"Come on, I was just about to make dinner."

Shikamaru put his bag down next to the couch and followed Asuma into the kitchen.

After dinner, they were lounging on the couch watching some random show when Shikamaru's head suddenly fell on Asuma's shoulder. He glanced down and saw that Shikamaru was sound asleep. He carefully got off the couch, picked Shikamaru up, and carried him bridle style into the bedroom.

He carefully placed Shikamaru on the bed and looked the boy up and down. He reached his hand out and touched the boy's slightly bulging stomach, which caused Shikamaru to shift slightly. He jerked his hand away and took a step back.  _'What am I doing? He's married, and I promised I wouldn't touch him like that. But what is this feeling? Ever since that day, it's been a lot harder to keep my hands off him.'_

Shikamaru shifted again in his sleep and reached his hand out as if he was searching for something.  _'Probably Temari.'_  Asuma let out a sigh and turned to leave. He stopped just before leaving and looked back at the peacefully sleeping boy.  _'My love for him has just grown since the incident. Maybe it's not such a good idea that he stay here. I don't want to hurt him again.'_ With that though, Asuma turned out the light and left the room.

The next few days were a real struggle for Asuma. He and Shikamaru had been doing things together, playing Shoji, taking walks, going out to eat, and every minute was that much harder. He had to get up and leave the room a few times to keep himself from pouncing on the boy, and Shikamaru was taking notice of his strange behavior.

"Asuma? You ok?" Shikamaru asked as he walked into the bedroom where Asuma had tried to hide himself.

"I'm fine," was Asuma's only reply, but it was a lot harsher than he meant it to be.

"You sure? 'Cause you don't look fine. Is something bothering you?" Shikamaru sat down next to Asuma on the bed.

"I-I think you should leave," Asuma said as he held his head in his hand.

"What? Why?" Shikamaru asked confused.

Asuma lowered his hand and looked straight at him. "Because if you don't, I don't know what I'll do."

"Do? What are you talking about, Asuma? You're not making any sense." Asuma grabbed Shikamaru and threw him back on the bed, straddling him. "Asuma, what are you doing? Get off!"

Asuma completely ignored him and smashed his lips on the boy below him. Shikamaru's eyes went wide and he was frozen in shock. After another minute, he started struggling against Asuma, trying to push him off.

Asuma pulled back enough to breath and smiled down at him. "You're mine."

"Wha-" Shikamaru tried to ask, but was cut off again by Asuma's lips on his.

Asuma forced his tongue inside Shikamaru's mouth and deepened the kiss. He started roaming his hands up and down Shikamaru's body, slipping one of his hands up Shikamaru's shirt and started playing with the boy's nipple.

Shikamaru continued to push on Asuma's chest, trying desperately to get the older man off of him. "Stop!" he yelled when Asuma finally broke the kiss and started kissing down his neck and up to his ear. "Please, Asuma, stop!"

Asuma didn't stop. In fact, he went even farther by moving his other free hand under the hem of Shikamaru's sweatpants and boxers and onto his member. Shikamaru gasped when he felt his member being touched, and an evil smile adorned Asuma's face.

"Asuma, stop! You promised!" Shikamaru yelled.

Asuma stopped and looked straight into Shikamaru's eyes. Shikamaru could see something was very wrong, for the eyes he was looking into wasn't that of his beloved friend, but of a stranger.

Asuma smiled again and leaned down to Shikamaru's ear. "Promises are made to be broken," he said quietly and then raised himself up and started laughing.

_'_ _This is definitely not Asuma. Something is definitely wrong.'_

Asuma started ripping the clothes off Shikamaru, the boy protesting and fighting against him, but eventually both of them were naked and Asuma moved Shikamaru so he was now in the middle of the bed.

He lifted Shikamaru's leg up, being careful not to put too much pressure on his stomach as to not hurt the baby, and three of his fingers in his mouth, got them good and wet, then entered all three fingers into Shikamaru's hole.

Shikamaru grasped the bed sheets and squeezed his eyes shut.  _'Not again. Please, God, not again.'_  He knew that he couldn't get away from Asuma, especially in the state he was in now.  _'He's going to rape me again. Please, dear God, don't let this happen again.'_

But his prayers were not answered as Asuma pulled out the three fingers and positioned his member over the now stretched hole.

Asuma rammed his member deep inside Shikamaru, making Shikamaru scream out. He began thrusting hard in and out, moaning, his face contorted in pleasure.

Shikamaru tried to stay quiet, but when Asuma hit his sweet spot, he couldn't hold it back any more. He moaned out Asuma's name over and over thrashing on the bed, his thoughts of fighting against the pleasure not completely gone.

Asuma thrust hard into Shikamaru as he climaxed and emptied his seed deep inside, Shikamaru shooting out a stream of white cum himself all over Asuma's chest. Asuma collapsed beside Shikamaru, both of them panting.

Shikamaru turned his head toward Asuma, but Asuma pulled him closer and smashed their lips together. Shikamaru again tried to push him away, but Asuma was too strong. They did it three more times before they both fell asleep, Shikamaru wrapped in Asuma's arms.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

The next morning, Asuma woke up and felt something warm close to his chest. He looked down and saw Shikamaru sleeping peacefully in his arms, completely naked. He jerked away from the sleeping boy, eyes wide, and saw that he too was naked, and covered in dry cum. He looked over Shikamaru's body and saw dry cum on the boy's butt.  _'Oh please no. Tell me I didn't…'_

Shikamaru stirred disturbing Asuma's thoughts. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the man. He closed his eyes again and turned away from him. That one look in Shikamaru's eyes before he turned over was enough to know, he had raped Shikamaru… again.

He quickly got out of bed, took a quick shower, and left the house, not leaving a note or saying a word to Shikamaru. He just hoped that Shikamaru would forgive him again.  _'But I wouldn't blame him if he never spoke to me again.'_


	11. Messed Up

Shikamaru slowly walked down the street, heading in no particular direction. He was completely conflicted inside.  _'Why would he do that? He promised.'_  He stopped where he was and just stared up at the passing clouds overhead.  _'Why did he say those things? And what was with that look in his eyes?'_  So many questions that he just didn't have the answers for. A few tears started falling down his cheek.

Choji came around the corner and saw Shikamaru just staring at the sky. Choji walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you ok?" Shikamaru jumped at Choji's touch, which made Choji jerk his hand away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He saw the tears streaming down Shikamaru's face. "What's wrong?"

Shikamaru wiped the tears away with the back of his hand and tried to give Choji a reassuring smile, but failed miserably. He just didn't feel like anything was good or happy right now. "I… It doesn't matter," he said, not making eye contact.

Choji noticed that and knew immediately that it did matter. He reached up and grabbed Shikamaru's chin and looked right into his eyes. "We both know that's a lie." Shikamaru tried to turn his head to avoid Choji's stare, but Choji firmly held his grip. "Hey, don't turn away from me. What's going on?"

Shikamaru roughly pushed Choji's hand away with his own and turned to leave. "I told you, it doesn't matter."

Choji grabbed Shikamaru's wrist and jerked him back. "Don't give me that," Choji said raising his voice a little.

Shikamaru stared at his best friend wide eyed. He had never heard Choji raise his voice, especially not at him. He was completely at a loss for words.

"Why are you crying, Shikamaru?" Choji demanded.

Shikamaru looked down. "I don't want to talk about it here."

"Then we'll go back to your place, or to the rooftop bench, just tell me what is going on," Choji said, still authoritative, but quieter.

Shikamaru nodded. Choji released Shikamaru's wrist and they headed to the bench on the rooftop that they watched the clouds at.

When they got there, they both sat down on the bench, Shikamaru lying back with one hand supporting his head, and the other resting on his bulging stomach.

"So?" Choji asked looking down at his friend.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He did it again."

Choji stared at him confused. "Huh? Who did what again?"

Another tear escaped Shikamaru's eye and he rubbed at it aggressively. "Dang I hate these hormones."

"Shika."

Shikamaru lowered his hand back onto his stomach. "Asuma," he replied quietly.

Choji's eyes went wide. He knew exactly what was going on now. "He what? But you said he promised you he would never do that again."

"He did, but he did it anyway, but…"

"But nothing. He hurt you again, and this time he meant it," Choji cut him off angrily.

He stood up. "I'm going to find him and…"

Shikamaru sat up and grabbed Choji's shirt. "No, don't!" he said a bit louder than he intended.

Choji turned to look at him. "What? Shika, I'm not going to just stand here and do nothing."

Shikamaru lowered his arm and looked down at his feet. "There was something different about him."

"What do you mean 'something different?'"

"I don't know exactly, but…" Choji sat back down. Shikamaru looked up again, "he just didn't seem like himself. In fact, he had been acting strange the last few days."

"Strange?"

"He was avoiding me a lot more, like he knew if he got too close he would…"

"But he did," Choji said when Shikamaru didn't finish.

Shikamaru looked down again and tangled his fingers together. "Yeah, but after he warned me that I should've left."

"He told you to leave and you didn't?" Choji asked now very confused.

"Yeah, but…" Shikamaru looked up at him again. "I couldn't just leave. I could tell there was something wrong. I wanted to help."

Choji crossed his arms. "And look how he repaid that." Shikamaru looked up at the clouds. "Please tell me you're not just going to brush this off like the first time."

"The first time he had no choice, but this time…" he said not turning away from the clouds above. "This time he had a choice and betrayed me. He broke a promise that I can't so easily forgive."

Choji relaxed a bit and placed his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. Shikamaru still didn't move his gaze away. Choji could see something different in Shikamaru at that point, and it scared him a bit.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

After leaving his house, Asuma went straight to the one person he felt he could talk to about anything, Kakashi. He went to his house first, but when Sakura said he was out training with Naruto, he thanked her and quickly headed toward the training ground team Kakashi usually used.

He saw Kakashi standing over Naruto, who was heaving heavily on the ground. He composed himself a bit and walked over. "Hey," he said trying to be casual.

Kakashi looked over at him. "Yo."

Naruto opened his eyes, glanced up at the new comer, and banged his head back on the ground.

Kakashi watched as Naruto did this and smiled under his mask. "Why don't we take a break."

Naruto raised his hand and gave him a thumb's up and dropped his hand heavily back on the ground.

Kakashi shook his head then turned his attention to Asuma. "So, what brings you here?"

"I need to talk to you."

Kakashi could sense the urgency in Asuma's voice. He turned back to look at Naruto. "I'll be back in a minute." He turned and headed toward the forest, Asuma following.

Naruto didn't even move this time and just laid there trying to catch his breath.

Once they got to the tree line, Kakashi stopped. "This should be far enough. What's going on?"

Asuma leaned back against a tree. "I really messed up."

"Ok?" Kakashi said as he too leaned up against a tree behind him.

"I-I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to do it, but…"

"Ok," Kakashi said raising his hands. "Why don't you start from the beginning."

Asuma took a deep breath and told Kakashi everything. How he had been since the incident, how he had a hard time even being around Shikamaru, and finally what had happened. "When I woke up this morning, I realized what happened, but what I can't figure out is why."

"You said you don't remember last night at all?" Kakashi confirmed.

"Not after I got to the bedroom, and even before that is fuzzy. I think I said something to Shika before it all happened, but I have no idea what."

"And this all started happening after that incident where we were being held captive."

"Right," Asuma confirmed. He put his hand up to his head, the beginnings of a headache starting to form. "And I think it got even worse after I helped Guy learn how to have gay sex."

"Wait, what?" Kakashi asked. "You and Guy?"

Asuma looked up surprised that he just admitted that and blushed. "Uhhh, yeah. He came to me one night and asked me to teach him so he could have a better relationship with Lee. He wouldn't just let me explain it. Not one of the best memories I have."

Kakashi chuckled. "I bet not."

"So what should I do? He probably hates me now."

"My suggestion is stay away from him for a while. Let him come to you, but I'd be on guard if I were you."

"On guard?"

"From Temari."

Asuma went a bit pale. "She'll kill me if she finds out."

"Yeah. Not to mention Shikaku." Kakashi was surprised when he saw Asuma get even paler. He clapped a hand on Asuma's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry though. If I know Shikamaru, he won't want anyone to know."

Asuma nodded, but his expression never changed.

"Hey! Kakashi Sensei! Come on!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi looked over and saw Naruto now standing and waved to signal he was coming. "I wish you luck, Asuma, but I've got to go or Naruto won't shut up." Asuma just stood there. Kakashi patted Asuma's shoulder a couple times then turned and headed back towards Naruto.

_'_ _I am so dead.'_

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Temari walked through the Konoha gates completely exhausted. These last few months had been really stressful and very long. She was ready to just crash for a week with the man she had missed so much. She was so tired that she almost missed Shikamaru and Choji standing at the guard stand, Choji talking with whoever was on guard today and Shikamaru just staring at the ground. She could tell that something was off about him, and immediately pulled herself together and approached them.

"Hey, you're back," Kotetsu said, bringing everyone's attention, except Shikamaru's, to her.

"Hey," she said back then turned to Choji. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I've been hanging around with Shikamaru for the last few days," Choji responded and both he and Temari looked over at him.

Shikamaru still hadn't looked up, and Temari could tell he was in some kind of daze. "Is he ok?" she asked Choji quietly.

"No."

Temari snapped her head up. "What do you mean?" she asked a bit worried.

Choji continued staring at his friend and a sad look crossed his face. Temari looked at her husband concerned. "He's been like this ever since…" but Choji stopped.

"Since what?" she asked turning back to the chubby boy. "What's going on?"

Choji sighed and finally looked toward Temari. "I know he won't tell you himself, so… Asuma raped him again."

"What!?" Temari yelled.

Shikamaru snapped out of his daze at her shout. "Temari?"

Temari quickly turned her head. She had several emotions flying through her mind, but she knew that she had to stay calm. "Hey."

Shikamaru walked over to her, but stopped a little ways from her. "I didn't see you come though the gate."

Temari gave him a small smile. "I guess that just means I'm a lot stealthier than you thought, huh."

"I guess," Shikamaru replied emotionlessly.

Temari balled her fists up at her sides, but then relaxed and pulled Shikamaru into a hug. She felt him tense up at first, but soon wrapped his arms around her and held her as if his life depended on it.  _'I am so going to kill Asuma for this.'_

They pulled apart, said goodbye to Izumo and Kotetsu, and, along with Choji, headed into the village. Temari held Shikamaru's hand, and he squeezed her hand as if he never intended to let go. She looked over at his face, but could tell he was dazing again, so she took a chance and turned to Choji.

"He's been like this the whole time?" she asked quietly in case Shikamaru was paying attention.

"Yeah, ever since Asuma raped him. I found him standing in the street almost like this, but after he explained what happened… It's like he's shut off his emotions," Choji replied sadly. "Asuma really hurt him this time."

"He hasn't come near Shikamaru since then, right?" Temari asked, her anger starting to show through again.

"No. I've been staying around him since then to make sure that didn't happen. In fact, I haven't seen Asuma at all since then."

"The next time I see him…"

"I know. I feel the same way," Choji replied, knowing exactly what she wanted to say.

"How could that jerk do something like this? Shikamaru trusted him." She looked over again at Shikamaru, but it was obvious that he was in his own little world now.

"Before he shut off his emotions, he said that Asuma wasn't acting like himself before."

"That should've been some clue," Temari replied looking back at Choji.

"He wanted to help Asuma, but we both see how that worked out."

Temari looked ahead of her and balled up her free hand. She was completely livid at what she had been told.

As they rounded the corner, Temari's eyes caught sight of the very person she wanted dead. She jerked her hand out of Shikamaru's, causing him to focus back on reality again, grabbed her fan, and stomped over to him. "Asuma!"

Asuma turned his head to see who had called his name, and stumbled back when he saw a very mad Temari coming toward him, her fan at the ready. He backed away until he reached the end of the building and tripped over himself and fell to the ground.

"How dare you do that to him!" she yelled and raised her fan to strike.

Asuma dodged the enormous fan as it hit the ground and left a deep hole in the spot he was sitting.  _'That would've caved my head in if that hit me.'_  He quickly got to his feet and started sprinting away from the very angry kunoichi. He didn't glance back, because he could hear her angry cries behind him, and that encouraged him to run even faster.

"You're dead, Asuma!"

After another minute, Asuma ran into someone, knocking them both down, and landed on his face hard. He felt a hand grab the hair on the back of his head and knew he was done for.

Temari raised Asuma's head up only enough so she could slam it back down on the ground. "You freakin' jerk! I should slit your throat!" She raised his head again, but before she could slam it down for a second time, someone grabbed her wrist. She looked up to see Shikaku staring at her.

"Just what is going on here?" he asked keeping a firm grip on Temari's wrist.

"I'm going to kill him, that's what's going on!" Temari said trying to get free of Shikaku's hold with no success.

Shikaku pulled her away from Asuma, Asuma yelling as she tried to bring him along, but the hair slipped from her grip and his head fell to the ground once again. "And would you mind telling me why? I think I heard you've been gone for a couple weeks, so what could he have done to you to make you want to kill him."

Asuma sat up, his nose clearly broke from the connection of the Earth, and stared up at the man who saved him, but would soon want to join her.

A small crowd started gathering at the commotion that was going on, but Temari didn't care when she answered him. "Because that jerk raped Shikamaru again!"

Shikaku went wide-eyed and his grip faltered enough that Temari could break free of his hold. "He what?"

Choji and Shikamaru finally caught up with them, but stopped a few feet away so as to not get in the way.

"Yeah, and look what it's done to him," she said as she pointed at Shikamaru.

Shikaku looked over and saw Shikamaru's blank face. He had seen that look on his son's face many times before, but he had never seen Shikamaru's eyes so devoid of life. He looked over at Asuma, who was surprisingly still sitting on the ground. "Is this true?" he asked sternly.

Asuma had looked over at Shikamaru when Temari pointed him out and was just as shocked to see the boy he loved in the state he was in.  _'Is he really like that because of what I did?'_

Shikaku grabbed the front of Asuma's shirt and pulled him closer making Asuma pay attention to the man in front of him. "I asked if that was true?"

Asuma stared at Shikaku's face for a few seconds before he looked slightly away in shame. "Yes."

Shikaku through his fist as hard as he could at Asuma's face, sending him flying back onto the ground with a loud thud. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't finish what Temari started out to do."

Asuma remained silent. After seeing what he had done to Shikamaru, he wanted to die. Shikaku took a step forward and was about to deliver another blow to Asuma's face, but stopped when he heard someone speak.

"Why?" Everyone turned to look at Shikamaru who was now walking toward the group. "Why would you do that? Why did you break your promise?"

Shikaku and Temari both got into a position to where they could jump in if Asuma decided to try anything, but stayed back enough so Shikamaru could still see Asuma.

"I-I don't know. I don't know what came over me. I didn't want to hurt you."

"So why did you?" Shikamaru said, tears falling down his face again. "I begged you to stop, but you wouldn't."

Asuma looked sadly at Shikamaru. "I couldn't control myself. I don't even remember it happening. I blacked out. I'm sorry, Shika. I'm so sorry."

"I don't believe you."

Asuma's eyes went wide.  _'He doesn't believe me? But it's the truth.'_

"You were acting strange long before that, but you never said anything. You said it yourself that you loved me and wanted to be with me. You were jealous of Temari because she married me and not you." For the first time since that night, anger rose in Shikamaru's voice. "You could've told me to leave before then, told me that something was wrong, but you kept it to your self. You wanted to rape me again!" The tears were now coming in streams down his face. "You raped me, and you liked it! You hurt me, betrayed me!" He walked right up to Asuma and punched him in the face. "I HATE YOU!"

Shikaku pulled Shikamaru away from Asuma, in case Asuma reacted. "Temari, take him home."

Shikamaru wiped his eyes with the back of his hand as his father pushed him toward Temari.

"But…" Temari tried to protest as she put her hand on Shikamaru's arm.

"Go! I'll handle Asuma." He turned to Choji. "Go with them. He needs both of you right now."

Choji just nodded and escorted Shikamaru and a reluctant Temari toward the direction of their apartment. Shikaku just turned to Asuma and glared at him.

Asuma stood up and waited for his death, but Shikaku just grabbed Asuma's arm and dragged him away. "There are way to many people around, and while I want to see you dead as much as Temari, I think the Hokage will want to hear about this first."

_'_ _I'm going to be dead by the end of the night.'_


	12. Coping and Explanations

Temari unlocked the door to their apartment and she and Choji helped Shikamaru inside. They led him to the bedroom and helped him lay down. They could both tell that he was exhausted. Temari leaned down to kiss his forehead, but Shikamaru turned his head away from her and turned to lay on his side.

Temari looked at him a bit hurt, but got up and walked out of the room. Choji noticed and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon."

Temari looked up at him. "He hasn't been able to go back to normal since this whole thing started." She walked away.

Choji quickly followed her. "Temari."

Temari stopped and turned to him and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry, Choji. Thanks for helping him while I was gone. I'll take care of him now."

Choji glanced back in the direction of Shikamaru then back at Temari. "If you need anything let me know."

"I will. Thanks," she said and escorted him to the door. After she closed the door, she turned around and leaned on it.  _'I just hope he's right.'_

NNNNNNNNNNN

Shikaku slammed the door to the Hokage's office and made Tsunade jump, crying out as the hot tea she had in her hand splashed onto her lap. She looked up and sat her cup down. "Shikaku, you had better have a good reason for barging in like that," she said angrily.

Shikaku tossed Asuma in front of him. "I want a restraining order on Asuma."

Tsunade was a little surprised at the sudden statement and looked over to Asuma. She saw fresh bruises starting to form on his face and blood running down his face from his nose and could tell that the nose was broke. "And may I ask why?" she asked as she got up and walked over to Asuma, beginning her medical jutsu to find out the full damage.

"He raped Shikamaru again," Shikaku said as he crossed his arms.

Tsunade stopped the jutsu and looked over at Shikaku then to Asuma. "What?"

"Ma'am, please, let me explain," Asuma said.

"There's nothing to explain," Shikaku said.

"Well I'd like to here it," Tsunade said to Shikaku, then turned to Asuma with a glare. "And it better be good." She took a few steps backwards, sat down on the edge of her desk, and crossed her arms.

"Temari had gone back to Suna and Shikamaru was getting lonely at the apartment by himself, so he came over to my place just like he did over the month and a half Temari was gone before. Things were going ok, but I felt a bit… off."

"Off?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know how to explain it. Ever since the incident, I've been having a bit of trouble… uhhh…" He looked back at Shikaku who was giving him a death glare then quickly turned back to Tsunade.

"Trouble with what?" Tsunade asked when he didn't finish.

"Uhhh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Controlling my urges."

"Urges," Tsunade said expecting him to explain more.

"Yeah, my… sexual urges."

"And you let my son into your house knowing that this was happening?" Shikaku asked as he took a step forward.

Asuma turned and put up his hands, but Tsunade was the one that spoke. "Shikaku, calm down. Let him finish." Shikaku stood his ground, but balled his fists at his sides. Asuma lowered his hands and turned back toward Tsunade. "Continue, Asuma."

"I tried not to think about it, tried to keep the urges under control, but that night…" Asuma lowered his head. "I don't know what happened."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked lowering her arms and resting them on the desk.

"My head started getting fuzzy. I thought I asked Shikamaru to leave, but either he ignored me or I didn't actually say it. When I walked into the bedroom, I faintly remember Shika saying something, then everything went black. The next thing I remember is waking up next to him the next morning."

"So you blacked out?" Tsunade asked in confirmation.

"Yes," Asuma replied. "I love him and would never intentionally…"

Shikaku grabbed Asuma and spun him around so Asuma was facing him, the collar of Asuma's shirt firmly gripped in Shikaku's fists. "Don't you ever say those words again!"

"Enough!" Tsunade shouted. Both Shikaku and Asuma turned to look at her. "Shikaku, I know you're angry. I will grant you the restraining order for Shikamaru…"

Shikaku let go of Asuma. "I want it for Temari and the child as well."

Asuma turned back to Shikaku surprised, but lowered his head.  _'So he wants to take away any connection I could have with Shikamaru.'_

Tsunade took a moment to think about it, but finally replied. "Alright. Asuma, you will not be able to go within 200 ft. of Shikamaru, Temari, or the child. The child will be solely Shikamaru's, therefore, there will be no record of you having any relation to the child."

"I understand," Asuma said not looking up.

"Thank you, ma'am," Shikaku said and walked up to her. "I'd like to get this done as soon as possible. Shikamaru isn't taking this very well and I believe that this will help put his mind at ease and he can start going back to normal."

Tsunade nodded and walked around her desk and sat down. She pulled a piece of paper out of her desk and started scribbling something on it. Asuma slowly made his way to the door completely dejected.

"Asuma," he heard Tsunade call out to him and he turned to look at her. "You're not finished here."

"Yes ma'am," Asuma replied and walked back into the room.

Tsunade finished writing down what needed to be done for the restraining order and handed it to Shikaku. "Thank you again, ma'am." He turned and walked toward the door, giving Asuma a fierce glare before disappearing.

"Asuma." Asuma turned back to Tsunade. "I'd like for you to go to the hospital and have a few test run on you." He looked at her confused. "There has got to be a reason why you blacked out."

"Yes ma'am."

Tsunade looked down and started working on another set of papers. "You're dismissed."

Asuma turned and walked out the door.  _'If they can figure out what's going on with me, then maybe there's a chance Shikamaru will forgive me.'_  A small smile adorned his face at this thought and he quickened his pace to the hospital.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru walked into the living room and saw Temari sitting on the couch watching TV. He slowly made his way to her and sat down next to her. Temari looked up at him. "You ok?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," he replied sadly.

Temari turned off the TV and reached up and turned his head to make him look at her. "Hey, we'll get through this." Shikamaru just stared at her. "Shikaku will make sure Asuma never comes around you again and…" Shikamaru turned his head, lowered it sadly, and started fiddling with his fingers.  _'Is he actually sad at that thought?'_  "Shikamaru…"

Before she could continue, they heard a knock at the door. Temari looked up but turned back to Shikamaru, who didn't move at all. When she heard the knock again, she got up and walked over to it. When she opened it, she saw Shikaku standing there.

"Mind if I come in?" Shikaku asked.

"Not at all," Temari said and stepped out of the way.

They went back to the living room and Shikaku saw Shikamaru sitting on the couch. He went over and knelt in front of him. Shikaku pulled out the paper he got from Tsunade and Shikamaru looked at it then up to Shikaku. "It's a restraining order," Shikaku said answering Shikamaru unasked question. "Asuma won't be able to come within 200 ft. of you, Temari, or the kid when it gets here."

Shikamaru slowly reached up and took the paper from his dad. He stared at it for a minute before he looked up to Shikaku's face, a tear slowly rolling down Shikamaru's cheek. "I didn't want it to be like this."

Shikaku placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "I know, but we have to think about your safety."

Temari sat back down next to Shikamaru and put an arm around him. "It's for the best, Shika."

Shikamaru shoved her arm away and looked at her angrily. "For the best?" Temari and Shikaku were surprised at his outburst. "It's for the best that I lose one of my best friends?"

"Shika, you know that's not what I meant," Temari said trying to calm him down.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and turned away from both of them.

Shikaku stood up. "I have to get going." He placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, but Shikamaru didn't react to it. Shikaku let out a sigh and headed for the door.

Temari stood up and followed him. "Shikaku," she said once they were at the door.

Shikaku turned to her. "Don't pressure him, or he'll only push you away too. Give him some time." Temari nodded and Shikaku opened the door and walked out.

That night, Shikamaru laid wide awake in bed. Ever since the incident, he hadn't been able to sleep as well, and now it was worse. The scene of what happened earlier that day kept playing through his mind.

_"_ _I couldn't control myself. I don't even remember it happening. I blacked out. I'm sorry, Shika. I'm so sorry."_

_"_ _I don't believe you."_

_'_ _I'm so confused right now. I wasn't thinking then, but something really was wrong with him. Does he really not remember anything?'_

He felt Temari shift next to him and looked down at her. She was cuddled up next to him and he watched her move her arm over his bare chest. He stared at her arm for a second before his eyes caught the sight of his slightly larger stomach. He turned his head back toward the ceiling and just stared at it.  _'He loves me, he said it himself, but would he really rape me again? I don't want to lose his friendship, but I really don't know if I can trust him not to hurt me again.'_  He let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes again.

"You ok?"

Shikamaru jumped a bit and looked down at Temari who was now staring up at him. "I thought you were asleep."

Temari sat up and looked down at him. "How can I sleep with all that sighing?" she said with a slight smile.

"Sorry," Shikamaru said and looked away.

"Hey, I'm only kidding." She reached over and turned his face back towards her. "Are you still thinking about Asuma?"

"I want to believe him. I want to believe that he didn't mean to hurt me again, but…"

"But you're not sure if you can?"

"There's something that I haven't told anyone about that night. Actually, I kind of forgot about it until now."

"What?"

Shikamaru looked at Temari straight in the eyes. "His eyes."

Temari cocked an eyebrow. "His eyes?"

"Something was different about his eyes. That night, when he stared into my eyes, I didn't see Asuma."

"Ok, I'm confused. You said Asuma was the one that did this to you."

Shikamaru sat up and looked down at his lap. "That's the thing. It was Asuma, but when I saw his eyes it felt like I was looking into the eyes of a stranger, as if it wasn't really him."

Temari thought about this for a minute. "Ok, I can see why it's bothering you so much." She looked back up to Shikamaru and wrapped her arms around his chest and shoulders. "But try not to think of it right now. If you want, we'll go to Lady Tsunade tomorrow and ask her about it, but right now you need to sleep."

Shikamaru looked up at her. "Yeah, ok."

They both laid down and Temari placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm actually surprised that I have to tell you to sleep," she said with a smile.

This made Shikamaru smile too. "It's because of this dang pregnancy," he half lied.

Temari chuckled and laid her head down on his chest and placed a hand gently on his stomach. Shikamaru wrapped his arm around her and they both closed their eyes.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

The next morning, Asuma ran through the village toward Hokage building.  _'I really hope she's found something out.'_

When he got there, he gave a quick knock, opened the door, and peeked in. "You wanted to see me?"

Tsunade looked up from the paperwork she was working on. "Yes, come on in."

Asuma walked in and closed the door behind him. "Is this about the results of the tests done yesterday?"

"Yes," Tsunade said and rummaged around her desk. "Now where did I… Ah, there it is." She opened the folder and took a quick glance at it. "Out of all the tests that were ran on you, the only one that came up was your blood test."

"My blood test?"

"Yes," she said and closed the file. "Asuma, were you injected with anything when you were captured?"

"No, it was only the students that chained to the wall. Nothing attacked us adults. Why?"

"Because we found the same serum in your blood stream, although not as much of it," Tsunade said sitting back.

"How's that possible?" Asuma asked.

"I have no idea. If you weren't injected with anything, then you shouldn't have it in your system, and the fact that it's a very small amount is puzzling as well."

Asuma looked down and tried to remember if maybe he did get stuck by something, but the only thing he could think of was…

Tsunade saw Asuma's eyes go wide and his face go a little red. "Did you remember something?"

Asuma looked up at her. "Uhhh… Well, before I actually penetrated Shikamaru, I gave him a blow job."

"And I'm assuming you drank what he put in your mouth," Tsunade said leaning forward again.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, his face going even redder.

"Well it at least explains things," Tsunade said. "But why hasn't it left your system by now?"

"What do you mean?"

"This serum is like a drug, and after a few days it leaves your system if you don't put more into your body."

"It didn't leave Shikamaru and Lee's body."

"I believe the babies are the reason it hasn't left their systems, but that doesn't explain you. You're obviously not pregnant." Asuma paled a bit at the thought. "So why?"

"Have you figured out how to counter this serum yet?" Asuma asked trying to stay focused.

Tsunade looked up at him. "Hmmm? Oh, no. We haven't been able to figure anything out with that yet, but we haven't given up."

The room went quiet. Tsunade was trying to figure out why the serum was having a completely different effect on Asuma than Shikamaru and Lee.  _'Could it be because of the babies that they haven't become overly sexualized, and because Asuma doesn't have a baby is why it's affecting him like this? We still haven't figured out what this serum is completely. Will it leave Shikamaru and Lee's systems after the babies are born, or will they end up like Asuma.'_

"Ma'am?" Asuma said getting fidgety in the silence.

"Hmmm?" she said as she looked back up to him. "Sorry. You're dismissed for now. I'll let you know if we find anything out."

Asuma just bowed and left the room. When he got outside, he stopped to figure out what he should do.  _'I want to go to Shikamaru and tell him what's going on, but with that restraining order… No, he needs to know that it wasn't me.'_  He jumped up to the nearest rooftop and headed for Shikamaru and Temari's apartment.  _'He's just gotta believe me now.'_

NNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru woke up feeling a bit better than he had been the last few days. He turned his head expecting to find Temari lying there, but all he saw was an empty spot. He sat up and looked at the clock. It read 10:36 A.M.  _'Wow, that's the latest I've slept in for a while.'_

He moved to stand, and as soon as he placed his feet on the floor, his stomach started twisting and he ran to the bathroom.

Temari heard movement down the hall and looked just in time to see Shikamaru entering the bathroom. She put the spatula down next to the stove and went to see if he was ok. When she got there, she saw Shikamaru sitting on the ground in front of the toilet and smirked. "You just gonna sit there all day?"

Shikamaru looked up at her and stood up. "I will be so glad when this is over." He went to the sink and rinsed out his mouth. He walked up to Temari and wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm kind of happy that you're going through this," she said and pecked him on the lips. Shikamaru stared at her like she had grown a second head. "Well, whenever I go through this you won't think of me as 'too troublesome,'" she explained.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Temari, if I think this is too troublesome for me, then I'll think it's too troublesome when it happens to you. Though I will understand how and what you're going through."

"And that's what I meant." She placed another kiss on his lips. "I have breakfast almost done," she said when they pulled apart.

"You mean you haven't eaten already?" Shikamaru asked as she pulled him down the hall.

"No, although I did have some coffee." Temari let go of Shikamaru's hand and went back to the stove.

Shikamaru went over to the counter, pulled out a glass from the cabinet, and the milk from the fridge. "That's a surprise."

Temari looked over at him. "You're actually drinking milk?"

Shikamaru was in the middle of chugging down the milk so he didn't reply, but after he emptied the cup, he refilled it, placed the milk back in the fridge, and went to sit at the table. "Is it a crime?"

"No, I just didn't think you liked milk plain."

"I suddenly wanted some."

Temari chuckled. "Ok."

The room was quiet except for the sizzling of the sausage in the pan. The silence was making them both a little uncomfortable, but neither one knew what to say. The only thing on Shikamaru's mind at the moment was the situation with Asuma, and Temari made it very clear that she didn't want him to talk about it.

Breakfast went by quickly and soon they were both in the living room watching TV. Temari had her head on Shikamaru's shoulder and Shikamaru had his arm around her shoulders. It was the first time in the last few days that Shikamaru actually felt at peace, but it was broken when a loud knock was heard.

"I'll get it," Temari said as she got up.

She opened the door and the peaceful feeling she felt that morning was suddenly gone. "What do you want?" she asked angrily as she crossed her arms.

Asuma rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, I was actually hoping I could talk to Shikamaru for a minute."

"And just what makes you think I would let you go near him?"

"Please. You can stay right there next to him if you want, but I really need to talk to him."

Temari glared at him for a minute. "Fine, but you touch him…"

"I won't. I promise," Asuma said quickly.

Temari stepped aside and let Asuma enter. She closed the door and quickly followed after him. When they stepped into the living room, they both saw Shikamaru coming from the kitchen, but froze in place staring at Asuma, completely tense.

Asuma stopped, but Temari continued until she got by Shikamaru's side and watched Asuma like a hawk. "Make it quick," she said as she crossed her arms again.

Shikamaru looked over to Temari then back to Asuma. "What's going on?"

"Shikamaru," Asuma began, but stopped to figure out how to say what he came here to say.  _'Ok, calm down and just tell him the truth.'_

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"Lady Tsunade had some test ran on me. After I told her what happened, she wanted to see if there was something that could be causing my… behavior."

Shikamaru relaxed a bit. "Did she find anything?"

"She said all the test were normal except for my blood test."

"What was wrong with it?" Shikamaru asked a bit concerned.

Asuma smiled.  _'He does still care about me.'_  "She said she found a small amount of that serum that is inside you and Lee."

"How did you get it in you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Uhhh…" Asuma rubbed the back of his head again and looked over at Temari. Her death glare was making this hard, but he had to keep going. "The first thing I did to you when we were captured."

Shikamaru looked down and tried to remember what Asuma was talking about. His head shot up, eyes wide. "You mean…"

"Yeah. It's the only way it could've happened," Asuma replied.

Shikamaru quickly turned his head to Temari who was looking at them confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

_'_ _No, if it happened to Asuma, does that mean…'_

"But it's affecting me differently than it's affecting you and Lee," Asuma continued.

Shikamaru turned back to Asuma. "What do you mean?"

"Lady Tsunade thinks it could be a reason that I'm having trouble controlling my urges," Asuma said.

"So you're blaming that incident is the reason you raped Shikamaru again," Temari stated more than asked. Her voice was back to being angry.

"It is the reason," Asuma said to Temari. He looked back at Shikamaru and took a step forward. "Shikamaru…" he stopped when he saw Shikamaru take a step back and fear cross his face.

Temari lowered her arms and readied herself if Asuma continued.

Asuma backed up and put his hands up. "I'm sorry." He looked down sadly. "I didn't mean it, Shikamaru, honestly."

Shikamaru relaxed again and looked down.  _'So I really can't trust him until they find an antidote or whatever for this serum.'_  He turned around so his back was facing Asuma. "You should leave."

Asuma looked back up to Shikamaru surprised. "But…"

"Just go, Asuma," Shikamaru said and walked away.

"Shikamaru," Asuma said as he raised one of his arms and started walking after him, but immediately stopped when Temari stepped in front of him with a kunai pointed directly at his throat.

"He said leave," Temari said.

Asuma lowered his arm, looked down at Temari briefly, and back up to Shikamaru who had stopped and was looking over his shoulder. He closed his eyes in defeat.  _'That's it then. He's never going to trust me again.'_  He looked back at Shikamaru and saw the sad look on his face.

"Now," Temari said moving the kunai closer.

Asuma raised his hands and backed up. "Ok, ok." He took a few more steps backwards, then turned and headed for the door.

Temari lowered the kunai, but followed Asuma to the door. When they got there, Asuma stepped out the door and glanced back at Temari. "Don't you dare try this again," she said then closed the door before he could reply.


	13. Second Ultrasound

Shikamaru stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was in his black sweatpants, but was shirtless. He ran his hands over the now larger bulge in his stomach. He sucked in a big breath and gently pushed on the bulge, but quickly let it out in frustration.

"It's not going to go away any time soon."

Shikamaru turned and saw Temari leaning against the doorframe of their room, her arms crossed, and a smirk on her face.

"Troublesome woman," he replied as he turned back to the mirror.

He heard Temari chuckle and saw her walked up to him in the mirror. He took in a quick breath when he felt her cold hands on his bear skin. "Geez, woman. Why are your hands so cold?"

"Sorry," Temari said trying not to laugh, but made no move to remover her hands.

They both stood there staring at their reflections in the mirror, Temari running her hands over Shikamaru's stomach. "I can't believe you're already five months along."

Shikamaru sighed, grabbed Temari's hands and pushed them away, and moved over to the bed, grabbed his shirt, and slipped it over his head.

"Sorry, I forgot you hate this," Temari said.

"No," Shikamaru said as he looked back at her. She saw that his face was a bit red. "It's troublesome and embarrassing."

"So you don't hate it?" Temari asked raising an eyebrow.

Shikamaru looked down at his stomach. "I think I've actually come to really love the child."

"Didn't your mom say that would happen?"

Shikamaru looked back at her with a small smile. "Yeah, but I didn't actually think it would happen. I mean, how can someone love someone that they haven't even met yet?"

"Well you're the genius," Temari replied. She walked over and stood next to him. "But I think it's your maternal instincts kicking in." Shikamaru gave her a dirty look and Temari just laughed. "Come on, or we'll be late."

Shikamaru nodded and they both went to the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat, then headed to the hospital. All four of them, the two woman and the two "shemales" as Kiba so kindly calls him and Lee now after he heard Shikaku joke about it once, were now about five months along and it was time to figure out what the genders of the babies were going to be.

As they were walking down the street, Shikamaru caught something out of the corner of his eye and looked to find Asuma looking down at him. Asuma immediately looked away when he saw Shikamaru looking at him and ran off.

After Asuma came into his and Temari's home to tell him about why he had actually hurt Shikamaru, Asuma had started avoiding Shikamaru. He knew that it was simply because of the restraining order that Shikaku had placed on Asuma, but Shikamaru could tell that it was for another reason as well.

If he was going to be completely honest with himself, Shikamaru really missed Asuma. He let out a sigh as he looked back down, and that caught Temari's attention.

"You ok?" she asked concerned.

Shikamaru looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm just tired," he lied.

Temari knew he was lying because she too saw Asuma, but she just nodded and the walked quietly the rest of the way to the hospital.

When they got there, they saw Lee and Guy just arriving as well.

"Shikamaru! Temari!" Lee yelled as he waved at them.

Shikamaru smiled. "Same old Lee."

Temari nodded in agreement.

"You two are sure looking youthful today," Guy said when Shikamaru and Temari got closer.

"If you say so," Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru, you are bigger than I am," Lee said.

As soon as they started showing, Lee had made it a point to always compare his and Shikamaru's bellies. Shikamaru found it slightly annoying, but he figured it was Lee's way of staying competitive since he couldn't do any training now.

"Yeah, it's really troublesome," Shikamaru said as he put his hands in his pockets.

Lee looked up at Guy. "Does that mean that Shikamaru's baby is healthier than mine, Guy Sensei?"

"Lee, I told you that you don't have to call me that anymore."

Lee lowered his head. "Sorry, Guy Sen… Sorry."

Guy placed his hand on Lee's shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Lee." He then looked back at Shikamaru and Temari. "Are you two ready to learn the gender of your baby?"

"Temari is," Shikamaru said plainly.

"Hey!" Temari said as she turned to Shikamaru and slapped his arm gently. "You are too." She turned back to Guy. "He's already trying to figure out what he's going to call it."

"We," Shikamaru corrected her.

"Sorry, we," Temari said.

"Do you not want to help him decide, Temari?" Lee asked.

"No, of course I do, but every name I put out there he just rolls his eyes at."

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru said looking away.

"Hey, you're the one being troublesome here," Temari said.

"Why don't we go in and see if the others are here yet," Guy quickly put in. He hated it when other fought, and didn't all the yelling to surround his unborn child inside Lee.

"Yeah," Temari said happily as she grabbed Shikamaru's hand and dragged him to the doors.

"Will you slow down. I am carrying more weight than usual you know," Shikamaru said trying to keep up.

The four of them went through the door and saw that Kakashi, Sakura, Kiba, and Kurenai were already in the waiting room talking with each other. Guy immediately went over to Kakashi, Lee right on his heels, and Temari pulled Shikamaru over to Kurenai and Sakura.

"Temari, Shikamaru, good to see you again," Kurenai greeted.

Shikamaru nodded and sat down. Temari rolled her eyes then turned her focus on the two other women. "So, how are you guys doing?"

"Good. I can already fell my child kicking like crazy," Sakura said.

"Really? Shikamaru hasn't mentioned anything about his baby moving," Temari said worried.

"Temari, this is Shikamaru's kid we're talking about here. It probably thinks it's too 'troublesome' to move," Sakura said.

They all laughed.

"I'm sure his baby's fine, Temari," Kurenai said. "I haven't really felt my two moving much either, much to Kiba's dismay." Sakura and Temari looked at her confused. Kurenai smiled. "Ever since his mother said I should start feeling them move soon, he's constantly been asking, 'Have they moved yet?' 'What does it feel like?' 'When will I be able to feel it?'"

"Wow, he's really eager to feel them move," Temari said.

"Yeah," Kurenai said. She glanced over at Shikamaru and smiled. "And I think Shikamaru's been feeling something too."

"Huh?" Temari said and she and Sakura both looked over at Shikamaru who was making a weird face while rubbing his stomach.

Temari quickly walked over to him. "Are you feeling the baby kick?" she asked excitedly.

"Huh?" Shikamaru said and looked up at her.

"You're rubbing your stomach and making a weird face," Temari replied while pointing at his hand.

"I guess I feel something, but…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Temari said a bit too loudly.

"Cause I knew you'd over react like you are right now," Shikamaru said.

Temari looked around and saw everyone staring at her. "Sorry," she said as she sat down next to him. "What does it feel like?"

"I don't know. Like something is pushing against my stomach. Although, it's not really that noticeable, just when I'm sitting around doing nothing," Shikamaru said.

"It won't be very noticeable yet," Sakura said as she and Kurenai sat down in the chairs nearby.

"So when you said you could feel your babies kicks like crazy, you just meant that you've been feeling it a lot?" Temari asked.

"Well yes and no," Sakura said. "A mother will start to feel the baby kicking around the fourth or fifth month, so some may be able to feel them stronger because they've been feeling it more than others."

"Oh!"

They all turned to Kurenai and saw her rubbing her stomach.

"Did you feel the babies kick?" Temari asked.

"They moved?" Kiba yelled.

They looked up to see Kiba running over to them.

"Yes," Kurenai said.

"Can I feel?" Kiba asked excitedly.

"It was just once, Kiba," Kurenai said.

Kiba knelt down in front of her and placed both hands on her stomach gently and leaned in real close to her stomach. "Come on, pups. Kick for daddy. Please," Kiba begged.

"Pups?" Sakura asked.

"He's been calling them pups ever since we found out we were having twins. Evidentially it's something their family jokes about."

"And he says that in public?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, but it slips when he's really excited," Kurenai replied.

"I feel it!" Kiba shouted. "I felt them kick!"

Kurenai laughed and looked down at her husband who was absolutely beaming. "Well, I guess it's good they're listening to you now."

Kiba relaxed a bit, stood up, and kissed Kurenai. "I love you."

"I love you too, Kiba," Kurenai said.

"May I join you guys too?" Lee asked.

"Of course, Lee," Sakura said.

"Have you felt you baby kick yet?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Yes. My baby is already learning how to punch and kick. Guy Sensei says he or she will be a great tai jutsu user like we are," Lee said.

"I'm sure it will," Kurenai said.

"All right everyone. Listen up." Everyone turned to see Tsunade standing at the front of the room. "We are going to start the second ultrasounds now. Lee, I'd like to see you and Guy first."

"All right!" Lee shouted.

"Lee, we're inside. Keep your voice down," Tsunade said sternly.

"Sorry, ma'am."

Guy walked up to him, took his hand, and they walked away with Tsunade.

NNNNNNNNN

"Ok, Lee, you know what to do," Tsunade said.

Lee nodded and went over to the bed and sat down, leaning back and raising his shirt to reveal his large stomach. Guy stood on one side, and Tsunade sat down in a chair on the other side and squeezed some of the gel onto Lee's stomach.

"Ah, that is cold," Lee said.

"Sorry, we forgot to warm up the gel this time," Tsunade said as she grabbed the probe and turned on the screen. "Alright, first we're going to make sure the baby's still doing ok."

They all watched the screen as Tsunade moved the probe around on Lee's stomach and they saw the baby appear. Tsunade flipped a switch and the listened to the fast heartbeat.

"So is he or she ok?" Lee asked.

Tsunade smiled. "From what I can see it is. Now, let's find out the gender."

Guy grabbed Lee's hand and they smiled at each other before looking back at the screen eagerly. After a few minutes of silence, Guy got impatient. "Well?"

Tsunade finally stopped the probe and pointed to a small part of the baby. "You see that?" Guy and Lee both concentrated on the spot Tsunade was pointing to. "That there says your child is a boy."

"A boy!" Guy said happily.

"I am happy it is a boy. I do not think I would know how to raise a girl," Lee said.

Tsunade chuckled as she took the probe and wiped it off. "I'm sure you would've figured it out."

Tsunade looked away to place the probe back on the table, and when she looked back she saw Guy and Lee kissing very passionately. She cleared her throat and the two pulled apart, Lee's face slightly red. "There is a reason that I wanted to see the two of you first."

"And why's that?" Guy asked.

"Lee," she asked ignoring Guy's question, "has Guy been extremely pushy when it comes to sex lately?"

Lee's face went redder. "Uh, is he not supposed to?"

"Well, normally I'd say it's none of my business what the two of you do, but in this case it could be a problem," Tsunade said.

"What kind of problem?" Guy asked.

Tsunade looked up at him. "Asuma raped Shikamaru again a while back, and after he told his side of the story, I had a few tests done on him."

"I had heard that something happened to Shikamaru and Asuma, but did not know that happened," Lee said. "Is Shikamaru ok?"

"I believe he's doing better, but I think we can all tell that it's bothering him," Tsunade said looking at Lee.

"So what did your tests show?" Guy asked.

"Well, the only thing that was of concern was his blood test. He had a small sample of the same serum that is running through both Lee and Shikamaru's blood, just not as much."

"But how is that possible?" Lee asked.

"Asuma said that when they were captured, he admitted that he gave Shikamaru a blow job first before he actually had sex with Shikamaru. That serum must have already spread throughout Shikamaru's body and somehow transferred into Asuma through the semen that Shikamaru shot into Asuma's mouth," Tsunade said.

"But the semen doesn't come from the bloodstream, so how is that even possible?" Guy asked.

"I have no idea," Tsunade replied. "We've been trying to figure that out ourselves. The only think I was able to come up with is that while Asuma was thrusting his mouth on and off Shikamaru's member, he scraped the member enough to cause Asuma to get some of Shikamaru's blood in his mouth."

"So you think Guy Sensei has this serum in him too?" Lee asked.

"I don't know, but I need to find out," Tsunade replied and stood up. She went over and got a syringe off a small try and brought it back to the two men. "I'm going to take a blood sample from you Guy and have it tested. If it has the serum in it too, then we may have a serious problem on our hands."

"I haven't cut Lee while doing anything," Guy said as he rolled up his sleeve.

"If that's the case, then my theory about Asuma accidentally cutting Shikamaru will be wrong, and we will be back to square one on this mystery," Tsunade said.

She rapped a rubber string around the top of his arm, wiped a small spot with a sterile cloth, smacked that spot a couple times, and stuck the needle in. The syringe quickly filled with the red liquid, and when there was enough, she pulled it out, placed a small gauze pad on the spot, and quickly taped it.

"Ok, that's all I need," Tsunade said. "Go ahead and return to the waiting room. I'll take this down to the lab to get tested immediately."

Guy rolled his sleeve back down, nodded, and helped Lee get off the bed. They walked back in the waiting room and was now the center of attention.

"So, what are you having?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Tell us already."

Guy raised his hands and smiled. "Calm down everyone." He turned to Lee. "Go ahead, Lee."

Lee smiled. "We are having a boy."

Everyone congratulated them, and the girls pulled Lee away from Guy to start asking him questions. Guy just walked back over to Kakashi and talked with him.

After a few more minutes, Tsunade came back into the room. "Sorry for the wait."

"Can we go next?" Kiba asked loudly.

"Kiba," Kurenai said sternly.

"It's alright," Tsunade said. "You two can go next."

Kiba helped Kurenai stand up and literally bounced out of the room.

NNNNNNNNNN

"How have you been feeling, Kurenai?" Tsunade asked after Kurenai was situated in the bed.

"A little tired," Kurenai said.

"And hungry," Kiba said. "I think she could out eat Choji right now."

"Well, that's to be expected," Tsunade said with a smile. "The babies need lots of nourishment to grow."

"That's fine and all, but do they really need her to eat at two o'clock in the morning for something we don't have in the house? I can't tell you how many times Kurenai has asked me to go out and get something."

"I've thanked you for it every time," Kurenai said.

"Well, yeah. I guess that is the good part about it," Kiba said with a sly smile.

"Ok, how about we get to the baby now and you leave your personal activities to yourselves," Tsunade said.

"Sorry," Kurenai said.

They watched her as she got the probe out, put the gel on Kurenai's stomach, and the screen light up with the pictures of their babies. They also heart the double heartbeats of the twins' hearts.

"They both appear to be healthy," Tsunade said.

"So what are the genders?" Kiba asked.

"Well, the first one here," Tsunade said as she moved the probe to only show one of the babies, "is a girl."

Kiba squinted and leaned in closer. "How can you tell?"

Tsunade chuckled. "Well, let's see if you can tell after we look at your son."

Tsunade moved the probe around until she got a good view of the second child.

"Oh," Kiba said when he clearly saw the small protrusion on the child. "Wait, so that means we're having a girl and a boy!"

Kurenai smiled. "Yes, it does."

"All right!" Kiba said and fist pumped the air.

Tsunade had already cleaned the probe and Kurenai's stomach off and stood up. "Congratulations you two."

Kurenai struggled to sit up, so Kiba helped her. "I'll be so glad when I can move on my own again."

"I hear many women say that," Tsunade said.

They got back to the waiting room and everyone congratulated.

"Shikamaru, you're next," Tsunade said.

Shikamaru stood up and Temari grabbed his hand as they followed Tsunade to the room.

NNNNNNNNNN

"Has everything been going ok?" Tsunade asked as Shikamaru situated himself.

"Yeah, he's been taking the vitamins, eating really well, sleeping a lot…"

"And stopped puking my guts out," Shikamaru finished.

Tsunade laughed. "I'm sure you're glad about that."

"Extremely," Shikamaru replied.

"Well, how about we see what you're going to have," Tsunade said as she placed the probe in the gel on Shikamaru's stomach.

She went through the same thing as the other, searched around to make sure the baby was ok, listened to the heartbeat, and stopped over the lower half of the child, but not with a happy face.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked worried.

"Hmmm," Tsunade said as she turned to him. "Oh, nothing. You're having a boy."

Neither Shikamaru nor Temari smiled. "But something must be wrong if you have that face," Temari said.

"I'm sorry," Tsunade said. "Guy and Lee are having a boy too, and I was just wondering if that could be just a coincidence or if the serum only lets you have boys."

Shikamaru looked down at his stomach. "Could you be wrong?"

Tsunade and Temari both looked at him. "Well, it's possible, but I've been doing this enough that I know what to look for," Tsunade said.

"Aren't you happy with a boy?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru looked up at Temari and gave her a small smile. "Yeah, a boy's fine."

"Well he's healthy and strong, so don't worry too much about it," Tsunade said. "I could be jumping the gun and it could just be a coincidence that you and Lee are both having boys."

Shikamaru nodded and they cleaned up and went back to the waiting room.

Everyone congratulated Shikamaru and Temari as Kakashi and Sakura headed out of the room.

NNNNNNNNN

"I really hope all four of you don't go into labor at the same time," Tsunade said as Sakura sat on the bed.

"Why's that?" Kakashi asked.

"Because doing this for all four of you back to back is a little exhausting," Tsunade replied.

Sakura smiled. "You know you don't have to do this, my lady. You could always get Shizune to do it or someone else."

"I know, but I want to oversee Lee and Shikamaru's pregnancies, so I might as well do yours and Kurenai's too," Tsunade replied.

The screen turned on and they all watched as the picture focused in on the baby. The heartbeat was strong and Tsunade declared the child healthy, so now it was time to see what gender it was.

"Here we go," Tsunade said when she finally found a good angle.

"A girl," Sakura said happily.

"Very good, Sakura," Tsunade said.

"You can tell because there's no stick on it right?" Kakashi said.

"Well, not the way I would've put it, but yeah, the lack of it does mean it's a girl," Tsunade said.

"You're ok with a girl, right?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled behind his masked, leaned down, and kissed Sakura on the forehead. "Of course. I'm sure she'll be just as beautiful as you are, my flower."

Sakura blushed at the nickname. "Ok."

Tsunade finished wiping off Sakura's stomach and stood up. "I have something I need to check on. Can the two of you get back to the waiting room."

"I think we'll be fine. If I get lost, I'll trust Sakura to point me in the right direction," Kakashi said.

"Yeah, wouldn't want you to get lost on the path of life again," Sakura said.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. "Sakura, will you tell everyone that we will schedule another appointment soon. I forgot to mention that when they were in here. You should know the time frame."

"Yes, my lady," Sakura said.

They all left the room and when Kakashi and Sakura got back and told everyone the news, congratulations were passed around again.

"Hey, why don't we all go out to eat in celebration of finding out what are kids are gonna be?" Kiba suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea," Guy said.

"I am getting hungry again," Lee said.

"Yeah, I'm getting there too," Shikamaru said.

"Then it's agreed. Why don't we all meet up at that new restaurant that opened up yesterday," Sakura said.

"Sounds good to me," Temari said.

Everyone agreed and they all headed out.


	14. What's In a Name?

Asuma sat on the ground around the small campfire. He was staring up at the stars between the treetops, his mind running a million miles a minute. It had been two months since Shikamaru told him to leave, and after that he made sure that he didn't go around Shikamaru again. After a few days of just staying in his home, he went to Tsunade and asked for any mission at all, whether it was a D-Rank mission or an S-Rank one.

**_"_ ** **_Why the sudden need for a mission?" Tsunade asked._ **

**_"_ ** **_I need something to distract me," Asuma replied. When he saw the look on Tsunade's face he explained. "I can't stop thinking about Shika. My urges are flaring up and I'm afraid that if I see him…" He couldn't finish._ **

**_"_ ** **_I see," Tsunade said. She looked through a few papers. "I do have one mission. We've received a warning that one of the villages in the Land of Earth is planning an invasion. I've already sent a few teams out, but the more people out there, the better it'll be. I want you to join with Rigin, Komo, and Boku this afternoon and see if you can find any information."_ **

**_Asuma nodded and turned to leave._ **

**_"_ ** **_Oh, and Asuma," Tsunade said, causing Asuma to turn back around. "I don't want you to have sex with anyone without protection."_ **

**_"_ ** **_Huh?" Asuma said._ **

**_"_ ** **_If you really got that serum inside you by taking in Shikamaru's semen, then there is a very good chance that you could spread it the same way," Tsunade explained. "I don't need any more of my male shinobis out on maternity leave."_ **

**_Asuma's face went a little red, but he nodded and left the office._ **

_'_ _Two months without sex. I'm going mad.'_

"Asuma."

Asuma turned around and saw Genma walking towards him. "I didn't think you were awake."

Genma smiled and sat down next to Asuma. "Who could sleep with those two going at it," he replied pointing over to Izumo and Kotetsu's tent.

Asuma nodded. Izumo and Kotetsu were a new couple, and he remembered when he first started having sex. "They'll slow down eventually."

"It doesn't bother you?" Genma asked. Asuma just shrugged.

Asuma looking back up at the stars again and Genma watching Asuma. He watched Asuma in silence and he suddenly noticed a rather large bulge in Asuma's pants. He smiled. "It's bothering you more than you'll admit."

Asuma looked over at him then down at his pants. He closed his eyes. "I've been this way for a while now."

"You've had a major boner like that for a while and you won't do anything about it?" Genma questioned.

"I've masturbated several times, but it always comes back not long after."

"Man, haven't you gotten any lately?"

"No."

Genma's eyes went wide. "Really?"

Asuma sighed. "Forget it, ok? I don't want to talk about it."

"This is about Shikamaru, isn't it?" Genma said.

Asuma didn't reply.

"I'd heard you finally got him, but that something happened and now you two haven't been talking."

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Asuma said. He reached down and pulled on his pants, squirming at the uncomfortable pressure and looked over to Izumo and Kotetsu's tent.  _'Can't they stop and sleep already? They've been at it for almost two hours.'_

"I could help you with that."

Asuma returned his focus to Genma. "What?"

Genma got up and walked behind Asuma, leaned down, wrapped his arms around Asuma's neck, and whispered in his ear, "You can have my body."

Asuma quickly jumped up and away from Genma. "No, not a chance."

Genma looked hurt. "Come on. It's been a while since we've done it. I actually miss your touch."

Asuma shook his head and walked away. "Not gonna happen."

Genma chased after him. "Why not? I haven't seen you in some time. I had heard you've been going on constant missions lately, and since you can't be with Shikamaru, I thought maybe we could get back together."

"We were never together," Asuma said slightly angry. "We went off together at a couple of bars, but it didn't mean anything. I don't want to be with you."

"What if I did this?" Genma said.

Asuma turned around and saw that Genma had transformed into Shikamaru. His eyes went wide for a moment.

"Would you take me now?" Genma asked in Shikamaru's voice.

Asuma balled up his fist and hit Genma squarely in the jaw. Genma fell to the ground, the transformation disappearing, and he looked up at the angry man above him.

"Don't you  _ever_  do that again!" Asuma said then turned and started walking away.

"But why won't you do it with me?" Genma asked.

Asuma stopped. His fists went back to a balled up form.

"You clearly want to do it," Genma continued as he stood up. "So why not take this opportunity and have sex with me?"

Asuma turned around, walked up to Genma, shoved him up against the nearest tree, and smashed their lips together.

Genma was a bit surprised, but he wrapped his arms around Asuma's neck and closed his eyes.

Their kiss deepened and Asuma was now exploring Genma's body with his hands. He put his hands under Genma's shirt and ran his hand up and down Genma's back, while the other hand made its way down to Genma's growing member.

Asuma started grinding his pulsing member against Genma's growing bulge and moaned at the contact. He knew that this is what he wanted, and he was determined to give his body what it wanted.

Asuma pulled away from the kiss, grabbed Genma and carefully laid him on the ground, and got on top of him, taking Genma's vest and shirt off as he found Genma's lips again.

Genma also started taking off Asuma's clothes, but when he tried to unbutton Asuma's pants. Asuma stopped kissing him, grabbed his hands, and sat up.

"What? What's wrong?" Genma said trying to catch his breath.

Asuma was breathing heavy. "I… I can't have sex with you without protection."

Genma looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That never stopped you before."

"Look, something happened to me and it's one of the reasons I haven't had sex with anyone lately. I can't do to you what I did to Shikamaru."

Genma looked at him completely confused. "You mean get me pregnant? That's not even possible. I have no idea how the heck you got Shikamaru pregnant, but I…"

"The serum that did this to Shikamaru is running through my veins. If I have sex with you and release my semen into your body, there is a chance that I could spread the serum to you too," Asuma explained.

Genma's eyes went wide. "So you're saying I could get pregnant too? This is so messed up."

Asuma stood up, grabbed his shirt off the ground, and walked past Genma.

"Wait," Genma said as he stood up, grabbed his own shirt, and ran after Asuma. "I didn't say I didn't have any condoms. Asuma, please stop!"

Asuma stopped and turned to look at Genma, who almost ran into Asuma. "You still want to have sex with me even after what I just said?"

"Look, I'm grateful that you told me, but I've wanted this for a while now and I'm not gonna just let you walk away when I can finally have you again," Genma said.

Asuma looked down for a minute. "Ok, but let's go back to the tent. The ground is hard and cold."

Genma smiled and they both headed back to the campsite.

NNNNNNNNNN

After they had all eaten at the new restaurant, the four couples went home. Sakura and Kakashi were both now sitting on the couch, each with a book in their hands. Kakashi was reading his usual Ichi, Ichi, Paradise, while Sakura had a baby name book that they had bought on their way home.

"What about Tamako?" Sakura said.

"Hmm?" Kakashi asked lowering his book.

"For our daughter's name," Sakura said. "Tamako. It means 'precious child,' or maybe Tamiko, which means 'child of many beauties.'"

"Those are nice," Kakashi said then went back to his book.

Sakura scoured at him. She closed the book and smacked him on the arm with it.

"Ow," Kakashi said as he rubbed his now sore arm. "What was that for?"

"We're supposed to be doing this together. She's your daughter too, you know," Sakura said.

"I know. They both sound like good names," Kakashi said.

"Don't you have any names you want to put out there?"

"Not really. I always figured if I got married, my wife would already have several names that she would want to name our child if we had one, and I would let her name it whichever one she decided on," Kakashi explained. "You do have a few names you always wanted to name your child right?"

"Well," Sakura said. "I guess I did like the names Ran and Kiku."

"May I ask why? Or will I get hit with your book again."

"I should hit you just for that question," Sakura said and raised the book, but lowered it again. "Ran means 'orchid,' and Kiku means 'chrysanthemum.'"

"So you like the names that mean the name of a flower, like yours," Kakashi reasoned.

"Yeah," Sakura said with a smile. "When mom told me my name meant 'cherry blossom,' I fell in love with that flower. I kind of got obsessed with flowers and when I looked up the different names of the flowers, I found a few I thought would be cute girl names."

"Then we have our two options," Kakashi said.

"Huh?" Sakura said.

"I really like those names. Ran kind of reminds me of the girl that use to be on my team. Her name was Rin, but I also like Kiku."

"We could always name her Rin in remembrance to your friend," Sakura said.

"No, the past is in the past, and honestly, it hurts to think of Rin because I'm the reason she's dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sakura said. "So, would Ran remind you of those painful memories too?"

"No, I don't think so. If you want to name our daughter Ran, then I'll be happy with it."

Sakura moved over so she was closer to him, pulled down his mask, and kissed him. "I don't want our daughter to remind you of painful things, so why don't we just call her Kiku."

"If that's what you want, my flower, then that's what she'll be called," Kakashi said and kissed her again.

Sakura pulled away. "Why are you calling me that all of a sudden?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Does it bother you?"

"Well, no, but it is sudden."

"When I was walking down by the river, I saw the cherry blossom pedals floating on the water. When I looked at them, they reminded me of you, and I realized that you are my flower that I will love forever."

Sakura blushed. Kakashi chuckled and kissed her again. "So, if you look at a chrysanthemum, will it remind you of our daughter?"

"Probably, but it will also remind me that I will soon have two beautiful flowers that I will be able to look at here at home."

"I wonder if cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums look good together," Sakura said.

"I'm sure they will."

"Maybe I'll ask Ino to put an arrangement together with them," Sakura said then smiled. "And maybe I'll have her make the centerpiece a scarecrow."

"That will probably ruin the arrangement."

"Or maybe it will bring out the beauty in the scarecrow," Sakura said smiling.

Kakashi chuckled. "I will be happy just to be able to watch my flowers grow."

Sakura laid her head against Kakashi's chest and placed her hand on the ever growing bump on her body. Kakashi placed his hand over hers, and they both felt a small kick from the baby.

"I think Kiku likes her name," Sakura said.

Kakashi kissed the top of Sakura's head. "I do too, my flower."

NNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru and Temari walked into the apartment and headed straight for the living room. Shikamaru sat down, laid his head on the back of the couch, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"You ok?" Temari asked as she sat down next to him.

Shikamaru looked over at her without lifting his head off the couch. "Yeah, I'm just really tired."

"You going to head to bed?"

"Nah. I think I'll stay up a little. It is only 7:30."

Temari smiled. "So, will you talk about names for the baby now?"

"I don't know, Temari."

"Why not? We know the gender now so it won't be as troublesome to just talk about boy names," Temari pretty much begged.

Shikamaru sighed and lifted his head off the couch. "Fine."

Temari crossed her arms. "If you don't want to, then we won't."

"Troublesome woman. I said I would," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, but if you're going to be all huffy puffy about it, then I'd rather not." Temari stood up and started to walk away, but Shikamaru grabbed her wrist before she could get too far.

"I'm sorry, Tem. I do want to talk about it. I'm just tired from everything that's been going on lately."

Temari sat back down. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"What's that mean?"

"You've been distant lately," she said sadly, but then hit him in the arm.

"Ow," Shikamaru said rubbing his arm. "What was that for?"

"For trying to change the subject," Temari replied. "We can talk about the way you've been acting later. Right now we're talking about what we're going to name the child."

"Ok," Shikamaru said carefully. "So, what were those suggestions you mentioned before?"

"You weren't even listening then?" Temari said a bit aggravated.

"It's been a while since we last talked about it," Shikamaru countered.

Temari relaxed. "Oh, right. Well you still should've remembered. Ok, so I asked you if you wanted to keep with the Nara tradition and have Shika as the first part of the name."

"And I believe I told you that it doesn't matter," Shikamaru said. "Just because it's a tradition doesn't mean we have to."

"Ok, so you're open to other names."

"Sure."

"Well, I did think of one name that has Shika in front, so I'll just put that one out there first. What do you think of Shikadai?"

"It's a good name."

"But?"

Shikamaru hesitated. "I don't think dad would approve."

"Shikaku?" Temari asked. "Why would it matter what he thinks? Sure he's your dad, but the child is yours, not his."

"It's also Asuma's, and born in a way that is naturally impossible. He may have accepted the fact that this is happening to me, but I don't think he'll every really accept the kid into the family whole-heartedly," Shikamaru explained sadly.

"Oh," Temari said. They were both quiet for a few minutes before Temari spoke again. "Ok then, we'll save that name for OUR son."

Shikamaru gave her a small smile and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Ok, well since we got that out of the way, what are a few names you can think of for your… I mean our son?" Temari said.

"Well, I kind of looked at a book while I was waiting in one of the shops in town that had a few names that I actually like, that is, if the kid was a girl," Shikamaru said.

"You read a book?" Temari asked in a teasing manner.

"Shut up," Shikamaru said as he crossed his arms. "Do you want to hear them or not?"

Temari chuckled. "Yeah, what are they? Maybe we can get some inspiration even though they're girl names."

"Well, one of them was Kanako."

"Kanako? Do you know what it means?"

"I think it said it meant 'fragrant Nara.'"

"Wow, you would consider calling your daughter fragrant Nara?" Temari laughed.

Shikamaru blushed. "It was just a name I saw that peaked my interest."

"Well, we'll keep it in mind. It kind of sounds like Kankuro's name, which will be hilarious to tell him when I see him again."

Shikamaru smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that his name is almost like a name that has Nara in the meaning."

"What were the other ones?"

"Well, I remember the one that meant 'child of the forest,' Moriko. I really liked that one."

"I bet. Hey, isn't there a boy name that means 'little deer field?'"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Oh, what was that name?" Temari scrunched up her face in thought, which made Shikamaru smile. He always thought that face was both funny and cute, but he wouldn't dare say that to her.

"Ogano!"

"Well, I like the meaning, but the way it's pronounced is a little strange."

"It would be the perfect name for your son though," Temari said.

"I don't think so."

"Fine. What's next?" Temari said pouting a bit.

Shikamaru smiled. "The last one I saw was the name Sora. It means 'sky.'"

"I think I've heard that Sora can be used for both girls and boys. Hey, didn't you have someone come to the village a while back that had that name and was a boy?"

Shikamaru thought for a minute. "Oh yeah. He was from the fire temple. I heard he and Naruto didn't really get along." Shikamaru chuckled.

"What?" Temari asked confused.

"I just remember Asuma mentioning that Kakashi put him in charge of Sora and Naruto because he has wind chakra like those two did. He was not to thrilled about it because they're both knuckleheads."

"Oh, I bet that was a site to see. So why not name him Sora?"

"I don't know. I don't want to use a name that could be both a boy name and a girl name."

"Why not? I would've thought with you it would be the easiest solution, that way no matter what the kid turned out to be you would have a name."

"When it comes to something like this, I'll put aside my laziness."

"Wow, better jot that one down for the history books."

"Ha ha," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"Hey, I remember a girl name that meant something similar to Sora. Miku, it means beautiful sky."

"I like that one. Too bad the kid's a boy."

"Ok, ok, I guess we should get away from girl names and start thinking of boy names."

They both sat there for a few minutes, neither one having a clue what names to suggest. Temari finally looked back up at Shikamaru and saw him staring at the window behind her.

"You know there's no clouds to look at while it's dark." Temari's eyes went wide. "Wait!"

Shikamaru jumped, snapping him out of whatever daze he was in.

"Cloud!"

"Cloud?" Shikamaru asked completely confused. "You want to name the kid cloud?"

"Well not 'cloud,' but maybe Kuma."

"So you want to name our son Kuma, which is pretty much calling him cloud?"

"Well I don't hear you putting out any suggestions," Temari huffed as she crossed her arms.

Shikamaru looked down for a minute and thought about it. "What about Tobikuma?" he asked as he looked back up.

"Flying cloud. Well, can't say I'm surprised you came up with that."

"Hey, you suggested cloud. Troublesome woman."

Temari smiled, leaned closer, and kissed him on the cheek. "I meant about finding a way to actually come up with a good name relating to your favorite hobby. I actually meant it as a joke 'cause you like to cloud watch, but Tobikuma is a good name."

"Tch. Troublesome woman."

Temari laughed. "So is that the name you choose?"

Shikamaru looked over at her. "Yeah, I think it fits."

"It fits? Fits what?"

"Never mind. Tobikuma will be his name."

Temari was still confused about his statement, but she just shrugged it off. She scooted over closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder and smiled.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba unlocked the door and allowed Kurenai to walk into the house first. They both heard quick footsteps coming towards them and Kiba smiled.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted as Akamaru jumped up and knocked Kiba to the floor, licking his face as Kiba laughed.

Kurenai just smiled. "I think I'm going to make some tea. You want some?"

"Nah," Kiba said as he pushed Akamaru off. "Hey wait!"

"Huh?"

"Akamaru and Akamara."

"What?" Kurenai asked a little confused.

"For our pups, uh, I mean kids," Kiba said as he stood up.

"Kiba, while I like Akamaru, we're not naming our kids after him."

"Why not?" Kiba whined.

"Honestly, Kiba. You sound like a child. Besides, it would get to confusing." She looked down at Akamaru. "Plus, I don't think Akamaru likes the idea either."

"What? Don't be silly. He'd be honored, wouldn't you boy?" He asked as he turned to Akamaru.

Akamaru whined, laid on the floor, and covered his eyes with his paws.

"See," Kurenai said trying not to laugh.

"Traitor," Kiba said crossing his arms.

Kurenai chuckled at him, kissed him on the forehead, and walked toward the kitchen. Kiba immediately followed after her. "Ok, what about Akashi and Akane?"

"Where did those names come from?" Kurenai asked as she got the pot down from the cabinet.

"I don't know. I just took the prefix of Akamaru's name and then added something at the end."

Kurenai smiled and shook her head. She put the pot of water on the stove, lit the burner, then turned to her eager husband.

"Do you even know what they mean?" Kurenai asked.

"What they mean? Why would that matter?"

"It's something of a tradition. Some people like to know what their child's name means because they think it will give them an advantage."

"Advantage?" Kiba asked completely lost.

Kurenai snickered. "Do you know what your name means?"

"No."

"Alright, then why don't we start with that. Go into our room and in the drawer of the bedside table on my side, get the little yellow and white book."

"Ok," Kiba said then went off to grab it. He came back a minute later and handed said book to Kurenai. "Here you go."

Kurenai smiled.  _'Well, at least he's willing to learn.'_  "Alright, we'll start with your name." She flipped a few pages and stopped when she found it. "Kiba. It means 'fang' or 'protected.'

"Fang. Like a dog fang," Kiba said happily.

"Exactly. Your parents probably chose that name because your clan has a lot to do with dogs."

"Cool," Kiba beamed. "What's your name mean?"

"My name means 'crimson,'" she replied without even looking at the book.

"Because of your eyes?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah."

"So names could be given to a kid not only for luck, but because of a characteristic."

"Yes, that's true. Yours and mine are perfect examples of that." Kurenai handed the book to Kiba. "Why don't you look up Akane and Akashi and see what they mean."

Kiba excitedly took the book and started flipping through the pages. He stopped on one and scanned it. "Akane, 'red.' Akashi, 'proof.'" He lowered the book. "I don't like those."

Kurenai smiled. "Ok, so, can you find any names in there that you do like?"

Kiba sat down at the kitchen table and started flipping through the book. He continued to scan pages and read the meanings, while Kurenai finished up the tea, poured herself a cup, and sat down across from Kiba to watch him. She was happy that he was so excited to find names that actually meant something.

"What about Kenichi for our son?" Kiba said.

"What's it mean?"

"It means 'strong, healthy first.'"

"I like it. Here's another question for you. Since we're having twins, do you want both their names to start with the first letter?"

"Is that a requirement?"

"Well, no, but…"

"So is it a personal preference?" Kiba asked before she could finish.

"Kind of. I've never really thought about having twins, but I told myself that if I ever did that I would want them to have names that start with the same first letter."

"Why?"

"I think it makes them closer in some way, but that's just me."

"Do they have to mean similar things too?"

"No, that don't matter to me as much, but I do want them to have a meaningful name though."

"Alright," Kiba said before he went back to the book.

Kurenai smiled and took another sip of her tea.

After another minute, Kiba looked back up. "What about Yuka and Yuuta? They mean 'gentle flower' and 'great bravery.' I want my son to have great bravery," he beamed.

"At least your figuring out how the meanings are kind of important. So why would you want your daughter's name to mean gentle flower?"

"Uh, well, I want her to be pretty, but I guess not so gentle. I want her to be tough like her parents."

Kurenai laughed. "Then I guess you better keep looking."

"Hey, what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you have any names you want to put out there?"

Kurenai sat the now empty cup on the table. "I was never the type of girl to have names picked out. I always figured I'd just decide it with my husband."

Kiba held out the book to her. "Do you want to look at it?"

"No, I've already looked though it several times, but never really saw any that I cared for. You go ahead and pick some."

"Ok, if you're sure," Kiba said as he opened the book back up.

He looked for another few minutes then quickly stood up. "I found them! The perfect names!"

"My goodness," Kurenai gasped, then smiled. "What are they?"

"Takeshi and Tamiko?"

"Those are nice. What do they mean?"

"Well, Takeshi means 'fierce warrior,' and Tamiko means 'child of many beauties.'"

"That gives you the name of a strong son and a pretty daughter, the two qualities you were looking for."

"Yeah," Kiba said with a huge grin. "Do you like them?"

"I love them," Kurenai said.

Kiba closed the book, threw it on the table, and went over to Kurenai and knelt down in front of her. She scooted around in her chair knowing what he was trying to do.

"Do you hear that, pups? Your names are Takeshi and Tamiko. Do you like them?" he asked as he placed his hands on Kurenai's stomach.

He frowned a bit when he didn't feel anything, but his face brightened up when he suddenly felt several kicks.

"Yahoo!" Kiba shouted as he jumped and fist pumped the air. "They like them!"

Kurenai laughed. "Yes, they do."

She moved to stand up from her chair, and Kiba immediately reached to help her. When she was standing, she wrapped her arms around Kiba's neck and kissed him. Kiba quickly put his arms around her waist the best he could.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Kiba asked.

"For giving our children great names."

Kiba grinned. "If that's all it takes to get this kind of response; I'll have to find more ways to make you grateful."

Kurenai smiled and kissed him again.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Lee carefully sat down on the couch and let out a sigh.

"Are you ok, Lee?" Guy asked concerned.

"Yes, I am just a bit tired from the walk home."

"I see," Guy said as he sat down next to Lee.

"I will be happy when this child is born, then I will be able to train again and I will not feel this tired anymore."

"That's true, but you will have to take it easy for a while."

Lee nodded and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the couch. Guy got closer and placed his hand on Lee's leg and began rubbing it, but as soon as Lee felt the movement, he grabbed Guy's hand.

"I am sorry, Guy Sensei, but I do not feel like doing that right now."

"I understand, Lee," Guy replied as he removed his hand. He stared at Lee for a moment then smiled. "Why don't we start thinking of names for our youthful son?"

"Do we do that this early?" Lee asked lifting his head off the couch.

"Some couples start thinking of names as soon as they find out they are having a kid."

"So we are behind?"

"No, not exactly."

"I do not wish to be behind even on something as small as this. Let us think of names," Lee said determined.

Guy smiled and pulled a small book out of his kunai pouch. "I picked this up for this exactly reason."

Lee took the book and looked at it. " _What's In a Name?_ " He looked up at Guy. "It is a baby name book?"

"Yes, Sakura actually mentioned it a few days ago when I ran into her and Kakashi. She said that she wanted to get one and I thought it would be a good idea to get one for us as well."

"Most excellent thinking, Guy Sensei," Lee said then looked down at the book. He opened it and read one of the names. "Ai. Mostly used as a girl name. The meaning of the name Ai is 'love.' People who like the name Ai also like: Aiko, Aimi, Aki, Akemi, Akiko, Ayumu, and Amaya." He looked back at Guy. "This will be harder than I thought."

Guy smiled. "It's not as hard as you think, Lee. For starters, you should look for the names that are more for a boy."

"Like this one?" Lee replied referring to the first boy name he saw. "Akihiko. Mostly used as a boy name. The meaning of the name Akihiko is 'Bright Child.' People who like the name Akihiko also like: Akio, Akihito, Daichi…"

"Lee, you don't have to go through all of them."

"But we should be thorough in this, right?" Lee asked.

 _'_ _Ah, so innocent.'_  "Yes, but most people just think of a name that they would like to name their child and look to see what it means."

"I see," Lee said as he looked back down at the book. "So if there are any names that I would want to name our child, I would look them up."

"Yes, there is even a section that can tell you names that mean a certain thing." Guy took the book from Lee, flipped it a few pages, and handed it back. "See."

"Thank you. I will look over this."

They sat there in the quiet as Lee looked over the meanings. Guy was starting to get a bit restless and wrapped his arm around Lee's shoulder. When Lee made no move to remove his arm, he took a chance and laid his head on Lee's shoulder.

"I think I will look for names that will make our son strong," Lee said, not paying any attention to Guy's actions.

"That sounds like a good plan."

Lee beamed at Guy's encouragement and went back to the book.

Guy turned his face towards Lee's neck and nuzzled it.

"There is Ken, Ken'ichi, and Kenta which mean 'healthy, strong.' Those would be good names, right, Guy Sensei?"

Guy made a noise against Lee's neck, but never said a word. To Lee, this meant that Guy did not agree, so he went and looked for other names.

"What about Isamu, Yuu, or Yuuta? They mean 'brave.' Yuuta even means 'great bravery.'

Guy was kissing up Lee's neck and around Lee's ear. "That's nice, Lee."

Lee slightly pulled away from Guy's attention. "Guy Sensei, are we not supposed to do this together?"

"We are, Lee. You're picking out the names, and I'll tell you what I think of them." He then went back to kissing Lee around the ear and jaw.

"B-but should you not pick out some too?"

Guy pulled away only a tiny bit and rubbed his nose around on Lee's skin. "How about Might Stone or Metal Lee?" He then went back to kissing Lee and placed his free hand on Lee's leg again.

"That is just a variation of our names. They do not mean anything."

"You mean everything to me, Lee," Guy said not clearly hearing what Lee just said.

 _'_ _Guy Sensei is not going to be much help like this,'_ Lee thought to himself. He looked back at the book trying to find other names. "How about Osamu, it means 'disciplined, studious.' That would mean he would listen and do what we say in training, right?"

Guy just moaned in response. He ran his hand up Lee's leg and towards Lee's crotch, but Lee grabbed Guy's hand and pushed it away.

"Please, Guy Sensei," Lee tried, but Guy just ignored him and moved his hand out of Lee's grip and back on Lee's leg.

Lee looked down at the book sadly. He felt something almost like a punch in his stomach and smiled.  _'At least he is giving me his opinion.'_

After another minute, Lee found another name. "Taro. Meaning 'strong boy.' I think I like that one, what about you, Guy Sensei."

"It's perfect, Lee," Guy said then pushed Lee down so he was laying on the couch.

Lee dropped the book and put both hands on Guy's chest. "Guy Sensei, I do not want this right now. Please, get off."

Guy looked down at him sadly, but moved away from him. "I'm sorry, Lee. I-I don't know what came over me."

"It is ok. I am tired, so I think I will go take a shower and head to bed," Lee said then got up and left the room.

Guy watched him leave the room, then got up himself and headed to the bedroom.


	15. Trouble with the Youthful Family

Guy woke up the next morning and saw Lee still asleep. Lee was on his side, with his back facing Guy. Guy smiled and moved closer to Lee, wrapping his arm around Lee's chest, and started kissing Lee's neck.

Lee groaned lightly. "Guy Sensei, please. I am trying to sleep."

Guy continued to lightly kiss Lee's neck. He slowly made his way to Lee's ear and started nibbling on it, but Lee turned his head which caused Guy to smile. "Morning, Lee."

Lee carefully twisted his body so that he was now on the opposite side. "Guy Sensei, why…"

Guy cut him off with a kiss. The kiss deepened and Guy pulled Lee's body closer. He moved his lips from Lee's mouth to his jaw, down his neck, and finally placed several kisses on his chest. Soon one of Lee's nipples was in Guy's mouth, the other pinched between Guy's thumb and finger.

"Ahh, Guy Sensei," Lee called out in pleasure.

Guy moved his free hand down and started rubbing Lee's member, causing the boy to moan even more. As he moved from Lee's nipple and began to kiss Lee's bulging stomach, they both heard a knock on the door.

"Who in the world could that be?" Guy asked annoyed.

"Perhaps you should go see who it is," Lee said.

Guy looked at Lee's face, smiled when he saw that it was slightly red, and moved to kiss him. "But I'd rather stay here with you."

They heard the knock again and Guy groaned. He got up, grabbed his boxers and slipped them on, and walked out of the room.

"This had better be important," Guy said as he opened the door.

"Might Guy?" a tall brown haired shinobi asked.

"That's me," Guy said.

"I have a message from the Hokage. She wants to see you in her office as soon as possible," the man said.

"Can't it wait? I was kind of in the middle of something," Guy said crossing his arms.

"No, Sir. She said that she wants you there immediately."

Guy sighed. "Fine. Tell her we'll be there soon." And with that, Guy closed the door and returned to the bedroom.

"Is everything alright, Guy Sensei?" Lee asked when he saw Guy's upset face.

"Lady Tsunade wants to see us in her office."

"Now?"

"Yes," Guy replied none too happy.

"Then I guess we should go."

"Yeah, I guess."

They both got dressed, went to the kitchen to eat something really quick, and then headed to the Hokage's office.

When they got there, Guy opened the door without knocking. "What's this all about?"

"Guy Sensei, we should not just barge in like that," Lee said.

Tsunade was startled by the sudden entrance, but quickly recovered. "Good you're here."

"We were kind of in the middle of something so let's make this fast," Guy said rudely.

"Guy Sensei," Lee said completely shocked at the way Guy was acting.

Guy looked over at Lee and gave him a sly smile. "I want to get back to what we were doing."

Lee took a step back. He had never seen Guy like this before, and something about Guy's eyes frightened him a bit.

Tsunade stood up and walked over to the two. "Ok, calm down, Guy." Guy turned to her and crossed his arms. "I just thought you would like to know that I got the test results back on your blood and there is a lot more of the serum in your blood than there was in Asuma's."

"What does that mean?" Lee asked.

"I don't know yet, but with the way Guy is acting now, it doesn't seem good," Tsunade said watching Guy carefully.

"I'm perfectly fine. I just want to spend time with my wife," Guy said.

Lee jerked his head at that. Guy had never referred to him as his wife before.  _'I guess one of us has to be the wife of the relationship, but I never thought he actually thought of me like that.'_

"And you can, but I think maybe we should figure out what exactly this serum is doing to you and Asuma," Tsunade said.

Guy turned, grabbed Lee's arm, and headed for the door.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Tsunade asked angrily. "I did not say you could leave yet."

Guy completely ignored her and walked out the door, dragging Lee alongside of him. "G-Guy Sensei, we should not…"

"Be quiet, Lee," Guy interrupted him harshly.

Lee quickly shut his mouth and stared at Guy in horror.  _'He has never said that to me before.'_

"Guy, stop this instant!" Tsunade shouted at him from the doorway of her office.

"Leave us along, Tsunade," Guy said not even turning around.

"Someone, stop him, now!" Tsunade shouted.

Two shinobi stepped in front of Guy and Lee, causing them to stop. "Get out of our way," Guy said in a menacing tone.

Tsunade walked around to face them. "Guy, you are out of line here. If you do not let Lee go this instant…"

"You'll what? He's mine and you can't take him away from me!" Guy said.

"Take him into custody," Tsunade said to the two shinobi.

Guy narrowed his eyes and his grip on Lee's arm got tighter. "You don't want to do that."

The two shinobi rushed forward and grabbed Guy by the arms causing Guy to release Lee's arm. Tsunade pulled a stunned Lee back behind her. The two shinobi struggled to keep their grip on Guy's arms, but managed to knock his feet out from under him and pin him to the ground.

"Let go of me!" Guy shouted.

"Take him to the hospital and restrain him. Tell the nurses to sedate him if need be," Tsunade said.

The two shinobi nodded and pulled Guy up off the ground, making sure they had a tight grip on him and lead him away.

Tsunade turned back to Lee, who was still standing there stunned. "Lee, are you all right?"

"W-what just happened?" Lee said unable to look away from the door Guy disappeared through.

Tsunade placed her hand on Lee's shoulder which finally pulled Lee's attention to her. "We're going to find out, I promise, but for now we need to check you out."

Lee shook his head. "I am fine. He has not hurt me. I want to go to wherever you have taken him."

"That's not a good idea," Tsunade said. Lee looked down sadly. "I know you care about Guy, but right now something is wrong with him, and if you go near him, he may hurt you the same way Asuma hurt Shikamaru."

Lee looked back up at her. "You think what has happened to Asuma is now happening to Guy Sensei?"

"Yes, and the fact that he has a lot more of the serum in his blood is bothering me," Tsunade said.

Lee looked back at the door. "So what will happen to him?"

"We're going to do a few more tests," Tsunade explained. "I wonder if this is how Asuma would've acted if someone tried to stop him from having sex with Shikamaru."

"What do you mean?" Lee asked looking back at her.

"Well, Asuma said that he blacked out during the time he raped Shikamaru. Shikamaru said Asuma was a little rougher with him," Tsunade explained. "It's almost like they are possessed and have an obsession with the one they love."

Lee looked down in thought then back up at Tsunade. "May I leave?"

"Of course, but don't go near the hospital right now," Tsunade said. "I'm going to head over there now and see what I can do, but I will tell you when you can see Guy again."

Lee nodded and walked away.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Asuma jumped from tree branch to tree branch following the rest of his team. They had been traveling for about two hours already, but something didn't feel right to Asuma. He was sweating profusely and his vision was starting to blur on him. He shook his head to try and clear his vision, but it didn't seem to work.

"Asuma, are you ok?" Genma asked. He had taken up the rear position and he had noticed that Asuma was zig-zagging more than normal. Izumo and Kotetsu glanced behind them, but continued going forward.

"I'm fine," Asuma said not even glancing at Genma.

"Then why can't you stay in a straight line?" Genma replied.

Everyone stopped on the next branch they came to, Izumo and Kotetsu turning to look at him, and Genma placing a hand on Asuma's shoulder.

"You do look a bit pale," Kotetsu said.

Asuma raised a hand to his head and tried to rub the headache that was there away. His head was now pounding, and when he looked up to Genma, all he saw was a blob of color. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell from the branch.

"Asuma!" Genma shouted.

Izumo, Kotetsu, and Genma were all able to catch Asuma and lay him gently on the ground. "Man, he's burning up," Izumo said.

Genma leaned down and placed his forehead on Asuma's. He scrunched his face, sat up, and put his fingers on Asuma's neck to check his pulse. "He has a high fever, his breathing is shallow, and his pulse is sporadic," Genma finally said. "We need to get him back to the village now."

Izumo and Kotetsu nodded and each grabbed one of Asuma's arms and put it around their necks. They were glad that they weren't too far from the village.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Lee walked all the way to Shikamaru and Temari's apartment. He hesitated before knocking, hoping he wasn't interrupting anything.

Shikamaru opened the door and saw Lee standing there. "Lee," he said then took a bit of something in his hand, "what are you doing here?"

"I am sorry to bother you, but I was hoping I could speak with you? Is that a chocolate covered squid?" Lee asked completely changing the subject.

Shikamaru looked down to what he was eating. "Yeah, I've been having weird cravings lately." He looked back at Lee and smiled. "Temari says even she wouldn't eat some of the things I eat."

"I see," Lee said.

Shikamaru stepped back and opened the door wider. "Come on in." He then turned and walked toward the living room, stuffing more of the chocolate morsel in his mouth. "Would you like anything?" he asked Lee.

"If you do not mind, but I think I will have an apple or something different," Lee replied.

Shikamaru laughed. "I understand. Temari made some cookies a couple days ago. I think there's still some left in the jar. Help yourself."

They both walked into the kitchen, Shikamaru went and grabbed the cookie jar and sat it on the table, grabbed the plate of chocolate covered squid, and sat down across from Lee.

"Thank you," Lee said as he grabbed a couple cookies out of the jar.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Shikamaru asked as he picked up another squid and bit off a piece.

"I was hoping you could tell me about what happened between you and Asuma," Lee said.

Shikamaru stopped his hand midair at that. He sat the half eaten squid back on the plate. "That's not really something I like talking about."

Lee looked down at the cookies in his hands. "I realize that it is a hard subject to talk about, but…" He looked up and Shikamaru saw the desperation in his eyes. "…please, I have to know if Guy Sensei will be ok!"

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "Wait, are you saying Guy is doing the same thing Asuma did?"

"That is what Lady Tsunade said, but…"

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Shikamaru said when Lee couldn't go on.

"When we went in for the second ultra sound, Lady Tsunade asked to get a blood sample from Guy Sensei. She said she wanted to see if Guy Sensei had the serum in his blood like Asuma did."

"And, did he?"

"Yes," Lee replied and lowered his head. "She said that Guy Sensei has more of the serum in his blood than Asuma did."

"He had more?"

"Yes, but I suspect that is because me and Guy Sensei… Well, we are more…" Lee tried to say.

"It's fine. I know what you're trying to say. So, because of that, he has more of the serum in his blood than Asuma. Have you noticed any changes in his behavior?"

Lee looked up at Shikamaru again. "I have noticed that he is getting more… I guess you can say touchy."

"He can't keep his hands off you," Shikamaru said for him.

"Yes, and last night, when we were trying to think of a few names we could possibly name our child, he would not pay attention. He just kept touching and kissing me. And this morning, he woke me up my kissing my neck, but before he could do much, someone knocked on our door. Guy Sensei was not very happy, and he even got angry at Lady Tsunade for calling us into her office."

"What do you mean he got angry?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well… He was very rude, saying things I had never heard him say before, even walking out of her office before she dismissed us." Lee lowered his head. "They had to restrain him and send him to the hospital."

"I'm sorry, Lee," Shikamaru said. "Was he being violent to you?"

"He did grab my arm hard and drug me down the hall."

"Did he say anything about you being his?"

"Yes, he said that I was his and that he could do whatever he wanted to me," Lee said sadly.

"So he was being possessive like Asuma was." Shikamaru remembered the night Asuma last raped him and a thought struck him. "Lee, did you get a good look at Guy's eyes?"

Lee blinked a bit confused. "Yes?"

"What did you see?"

"They were not Guy Sensei's eyes. They looked…"

"Like you were staring into a stranger's?" Shikamaru interrupted.

"Yes, like they were someone else's eyes. But what does that mean?" Lee asked.

"Asuma's eyes were the same way when he blacked out and raped me. If Guy's eyes were the same way, then maybe Guy was actually blacked out. I think we should go to the hospital to talk with Lady Tsunade," Shikamaru said.

Lee nodded and they both got up and left.

NNNNNNNNNNN

"We need help over here!"

Shizune looked up from the clipboard she was looking at and saw Genma looking around franticly and Izumo and Kotetsu supporting Asuma. She sat the clipboard on the nearby desk and quickly walked over to them. "What happened?" she asked as she started examining Asuma.

"We have no idea," Genma said. "He was acting a little weird this morning, then when we stopped to ask if he was ok, he just passed out. He feels like he has a high temp, his breathing is shallow, and his pulse is sporadic."

Shizune lowered her hand. "Ok, get him to a room." She turned and walked toward one of the empty rooms, the three men following.

Izumo and Kotetsu carefully laid Asuma on the bed and Shizune pushed Izumo out of the way so she could get to him. She quickly undid Asuma's vest and cut the shirt underneath. She used her medical ninjutsu to get a better idea of what was wrong. She moved her hands up and down his body and scrunched up her face.

"What's wrong?" Genma asked. He didn't like the face Shizune was making.

"Izumo, please find Lady Tsunade and tell her to come here immediately. She should be a few doors down," Shizune said.

She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a few things and brought them over to the rolling table. She stuck a syringe into his arm and blood filled the tube. She placed the tube of blood on the table and got the IV needle and stuck it in his arm.

"What's that for?" Genma asked.

"Just a precaution," Shizune said as she placed the IV bag on the hook near the head of the bed.

She leaned over Asuma and started checking his eyes for his pupillary reaction, then proceeded to get the rest of his vitals.

As she placed a thermometer his Asuma's mouth, Tsunade walked in. "Shizune, what do we have?"

"His pupils are unresponsive, his pulse is fast, and his blood pressure is dropping. I'm checking his temperature now," Shizune said.

Tsunade got to the other side of the bed and began doing a check of her own. "Have you drawn a blood sample?"

"Yes, ma'am," Shizune replied.

"Good. Get it down to the lab and get it tested out immediately. I want those results as soon as possible," Tsunade said. Shizune nodded and left. "Genma, what happened?"

"As we told Shizune, he was acting kind of weird this morning, and when we stopped to ask him if he was alright, he just passed out."

Tsunade took a quick glance over Asuma's body and noticed a bulge in his pants. "Has he had sex recently?"

Genma went red. "Yes, ma'am. Last night."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. "With who?"

Genma shifted on his feet. "Uh, with me, ma'am."

"You used protection, right?"

"Yes, Asuma said he wouldn't do it unless we did. Something about he didn't want what happened to Shikamaru to happen to me."

"Did you take any of his semen into your body?"

"No, ma'am." Genma was getting really uncomfortable at all the questions, but knew that she was only worried about spreading that serum.

"Good," Tsunade finally said and returned her attention to Asuma. "Get out, all of you." The three men didn't argue and left the room quickly.

"I hope Captain Asuma will be ok," Kotetsu said.

"Yeah, he didn't look so good," Izumo agreed as they walked toward the door.

Genma stopped. He stared at the floor and clenched his fists.  _'What is going on? He was perfectly fine last night.'_

"We need to speak to Lady Tsunade, is she here?"

Genma raised his head and saw Shikamaru and Lee standing at the nurse's desk. He walked over to them.

"I'm sorry, but Lady Tsunade is in with a patent right now. If you'll have a seat, she'll get to you when she can."

Shikamaru sighed, but turned to sit down.

"Why are you looking for Lady Tsunade?" Genma asked. He did a once over on Shikamaru and noticed that his stomach was a fairly good size.

Shikamaru crossed his arms. "My face is up here," he said annoyed.

Genma blinked then rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry."

"We need to talk to Lady Tsunade about something concerning Guy and Asuma," Shikamaru said.

"She's in with Asuma right now," Genma said as he looked in the direction Asuma's room was.

Shikamaru lowered his arms and a look of concern crossed his face. "Is he ok?"

"I don't know. He passed out while we were on our mission. He's running a temp, and his vitals are so good," Genma replied. He turned back and saw the worry on Shikamaru's face. "Hey, I'm sure he's fine. Lady Tsunade's in there with him," he tried to comfort Shikamaru, but he knew his words gave Shikamaru no peace of mind.

"Shikamaru?" Lee asked as he placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.

Shikamaru looked back at Lee. "Let's sit down and wait for Lady Tsunade."

Lee nodded and the three took a seat facing the hallway of doors.

After about ten minutes, the three heard the door slam open. They all looked behind them and saw Temari breathing hard as she scanned the room. Shikamaru slowly stood up and walked over to her.

"Shikamaru! Are you ok? Someone said they saw you head here," Temari asked franticly.

"I'm fine. I just needed to talk to Lady Tsunade," Shikamaru said.

Temari breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. Don't scare me like that. I go out for five minutes and come home to find you gone. Do you know how long I was searching for you?"

"Tch. Troublesome woman. I said I would be fine, and I am," Shikamaru said as he crossed his arms.

"Well sorry for being worried about you," Temari said angrily.

"Will you stop yelling? You're making a scene," Shikamaru said.

Temari looked around and saw that everyone was staring at them. Her face went a little red.

"Come on, have a seat," Shikamaru said as he walked away from her to sit back down. Before he could get back to his seat though, Tsunade came in.

"Lady Tsunade, how's Asuma?" Genma asked jumping out of his seat and running up to her.

"Asuma? I thought you said you were here to talk to Lady Tsunade?" Temari asked as she and Shikamaru joined Genma.

"I am, but then I heard about Asuma," Shikamaru replied then looked at Tsunade. "Is he ok?"

"We've managed to stabilize his condition. I'm waiting for the blood test results to get back. That's actually where I was heading."

"Sorry about that, ma'am. They just got done. Here are the results," Shizune said as she walked up to them.

Tsunade took the file, looked at it, and furrowed her brow.

"What's wrong?" Genma and Shikamaru asked at the same time. They looked at each other then back at Tsunade.

"I'm not sure yet," she said still looking at the file. She lowered the file and looked at Shikamaru. "What did you want to talk to me about? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, but I was talking to Lee and what happened to Guy is the same thing that happened to Asuma," Shikamaru said.

"What happened to Guy was worse than what happened to you and Asuma," Tsunade said.

"Wait, what's going on with Guy?" Temari asked.

"Guy Sensei is not acting like himself," Lee said.

"He's acting like Asuma did when he raped me," Shikamaru added.

"Are you ok, Lee?" Temari asked now concerned for him.

"I am fine. He did not do anything to me," Lee answered her.

"But he could've," Tsunade said. "If I hadn't called you two to my office, there's no telling what Guy would have done."

"Guy Sensei would not hurt me," Lee said.

"I didn't think Asuma would hurt me either, but look what happened," Shikamaru said.

Lee looked down.

"Lady Tsunade, I'm guessing Asuma told you about blacking out when he raped me, right?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, that he blacked out and didn't remember anything," Tsunade said.

"There's something Asuma couldn't have told you, something that Lee said happened with Guy too," Shikamaru said.

"And what's that?" Tsunade asked.

"Their eyes," Shikamaru stated.

"Their eyes?" Tsunade asked confused.

"You mentioned that before," Temari said. "Something about how it was Asuma, but you didn't see Asuma's eyes."

"Exactly," Shikamaru said. "And I asked Lee if Guy's eyes were the same way, and he said yes."

"So what exactly did you two see?" Tsunade asked.

"It looked like we were looking into the eyes of complete strangers," Shikamaru said.

"So what exactly are you trying to tell me?" Tsunade asked.

"If Asuma's eyes were that way when he blacked out, and Lee said Guy's eyes were the same way, then maybe Guy was blacked out and acting unconsciously in your office," Shikamaru explained.

"Asuma's eyes were fine last night," Genma said. Everyone looked toward Genma. "What?"

"So when you and Asuma were together last night, his eyes didn't seem different?" Tsunade asked.

"No, ma'am. Asuma was conscious the entire time," Genma replied. Tsunade brought her hand up to her chin.

"Lee, didn't you say Guy had been acting different the last few days?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, he would not pay attention to me last night when we were trying to pick out names," Lee confirmed.

"Did you notice his eyes then, or even the next morning?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, I am sorry," Lee said.

Shikamaru nodded then turned to Tsunade. "Can something mess with your head so much that you can black out because of it but still function?"

"Yes, it happens a lot to people on drugs. Alcohol is a perfect example of that," Shizune said.

"So you think maybe this serum is acting like some kind of drug that causes them to black out?" Tsunade stated more than asked.

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed. "Think about it. When it happened to Asuma, he woke up the next morning fine, but Lee said he was acting that way last night, and then even worse the next morning. If Guy has more of this serum in his body than Asuma…"

"Then he would be acting worse than Asuma," Tsunade finished. "That makes since, but then why did Asuma pass out like this?

"What if he isn't getting enough?" Temari put out there. Everyone turned to look at her. "Can't someone get the way you explained because they aren't getting enough of a medication?"

"Yeah, like someone with diabetes. If they don't get insulin, then they can pass out from low blood sugar," Shizune said.

"And with Guy getting too much, he's going mad because of it," Shikamaru said. "It makes sense."

"We'll look into it," Tsunade said. "But for now, all of you go home."

"Can I not stay here with Guy Sensei?" Lee asked. "I do not wish to go home and be alone."

"Why not visit Neji or Ten Ten?" Shikamaru suggested.

"I guess I could do that," Lee said.

"Good. Now get out of here. I don't need the two of you agitating them if they wake up," Tsunade said.

They all nodded and went their separate ways.


	16. Progress

Tsunade was sitting at her desk working on some paperwork that had been piling up. She sighed as she signed the current paper she was reading and put it in a pile. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.  _'Why is there so much paperwork?'_

"Lady Tsunade!"

Tsunade jumped at the sudden noise, opened her eyes, and saw Shizune walking toward her. "Yes, what is it, Shizune?"

"I think we found it," Shizune replied excitedly as she handed Tsunade a piece of paper.

Tsunade took the paper and looked it over. "And what exactly am I looking at?"

"I think we found a way to get rid of the serum coursing through Guy and Asuma's veins."

Tsunade looked up at her. "Really?"

"Yes, ma'am. When we took Guy's blood sample, there was a lot more of the serum in his blood than the sample we took from Asuma."

"Yes?"

"There wasn't enough of the serum in Asuma's sample to separate from his blood," Shizune said.

"But with Guy's sample there was more than enough," Tsunade finished.

"Yes, exactly," Shizune smiled.

Tsunade got up from her seat and headed for the door. "Let's get those to cured of this problem."

"Yes, ma'am," Shizune said as she followed Tsunade.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Sakura nocked on the door of her parents' house and waited for someone to open it. Since Kakashi had to leave early this morning for his mission, she thought maybe she would spend the day with her mother.

"Sakura," Mebuki said when she opened the door and saw her daughter standing there.

"Hey, mom," Sakura replied with a smile.

"What brings you here?"

"Kakashi had a mission today, so I thought I would come spend the day with you. May I come in?"

"Of course," Mebuki said and opened the door wider for her daughter to come in.

"Where's dad?" Sakura said as they headed to the living room.

"He went out with some of his friends. He won't be back for a while," her mom replied.

"So a girl's day," Sakura said. "Would you want to help me pick out the last few things we need for Kiku's room?"

"Kiku?" her mom asked confused.

"Oh, sorry. We're having a girl, and we've decided on the name Kiku," Sakura said.

"A girl! That's wonderful," her mom said and hugged Sakura.

"Yeah, we're excited too," Sakura said. "I'd like to see if I can find something."

"What's that?"

"Well, Kakashi and I were talking, well more like joking, about getting an arrangement of cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums flowers and putting a scarecrow in the middle, you know, since both my name and Kiku's name have the meaning of those flowers and Kakashi's name means scarecrow."

"I think I know the perfect place," her mom said as she stood up.

Sakura slowly got up from the couch. "You do?"

"Yeah. I went to this one shop that deals with home décor, and I saw some beautiful paintings of flowers on the wall. I asked where the store owner got them, and the man said that they special ordered them," Mebuki replied.

"That's great," Sakura said. "Let's go."

They both headed back to the door and left the house.

"What other things do you need for her room? And you will be taking me there to see what you two have done so far, right?" Mebuki asked.

"Yes, mom, we can go after we finish shopping. And as for what else we still need, it's not much. I want to pick out a good rocking chair, and I need to get a few toys and stuffed animals for her still."

"Then we'll go to Cutie Pies," Mebuki said. "They got really great selections of toys and furniture for babies."

"Ino took us there to look at baby clothes, which reminds me, I wanted to get that outfit I saw the other day there," Sakura said.

Mebuki nodded and they continued their walk to the stores.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Lee walked to the training grounds where he and his team usually trained and saw Neji and Ten Ten sparing. He slowly made his way over to them and when he got close enough that they noticed him, they stopped and turned to him.

"Hey, Lee," Ten Ten said with a huge smile. "How are things going?"

Lee looked down sadly. "They are not going well."

Neji activated his byakugan and checked on Lee's child. "Your child seems fine to me," he said as he deactivated his jutsu.

Lee looked up at them again. "It is not the child that is doing bad, it is Guy Sensei."

"What happened?" Ten Ten asked concerned.

"He is acting like Asuma was towards Shikamaru," Lee said casting his eyes onto the ground again.

"Did he hurt you, Lee?" Neji asked.

"No," Lee replied looking back up. "Lady Tsunade stopped him before he could, but now he is in the hospital in restraints." Tears started falling from Lee's eyes. "I am scared for him. What if he is like this forever?"

Ten Ten walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "It's going to be ok, Lee. I'm sure Lady Tsunade will find a cure for whatever is going on with him soon." She pulled back enough to look him in the eyes and smiled. "I'm sure he'll be back to normal and ordering us to take two hundred laps again in no time."

Lee wiped his eyes with his arm and smiled back at her. "You really think so?"

"Have you ever known Guy Sensei to give up so easily?" Neji asked.

"You are right," Lee said. "Thank you, I feel much better now."

"Good," Ten Ten said. "Now, give us an update. How's you baby?"

"It is good. We found out yesterday that the child is a boy," Lee said excitedly.

Neji closed his eyes.  _'So we'll have another one running around shouting about youth.'_

"That's great," Ten Ten said. "Have you picked out a name yet?"

"Guy Sensei was not very helpful with that because of the condition he is in, so I have not decided completely, but I do like the name Taro, it means 'strong boy.'"

"It suites yours and Guy's child," Neji said finally opening his eyes.

"I thought so as well," Lee beamed.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm getting hungry," Ten Ten said. "Lee, want to join us for an early lunch?"

"I would love to," Lee said.

Neji nodded then headed back to the village, Lee and Ten Ten following.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

It took about two hours, but Tsunade and Shizune finally came up with what they hoped was the antidote to this serum. They wanted to try it out on Asuma first since his condition wasn't improving and they feared that it may get worse.

Tsunade injected the antidote into Asuma's arm and took a couple steps back.

"Do you think it will work, my lady?" Shizune asked.

"I hope so," Tsunade said.

They waited a few more minutes, but Asuma still didn't move. Tsunade furrowed her brow.

"Maybe it just takes time," Shizune offered.

"Maybe," Tsunade agreed. "Let's go check on Guy and see how he's doing."

Shizune nodded and they both headed for the door, but before they could reach the door, Asuma let out a loud yell.

They turned around and saw Asuma thrashing wildly on the bed. "Shizune, get the restraints!"

"Yes, ma'am," Shizune said and ran out the door.

Tsunade rushed over to the bed and tried to hold Asuma down the best she could, but she was having a tough time doing so.

"Ma'am, I've got the restraints and a couple of orderlies to help us hold him down," Shizune said as she walked in.

"Good," Tsunade replied.

Shizune and the two orderlies held Asuma down as Tsunade attached the restraints to the bed and too Asuma's wrists and ankles.

"What happened?" Shizune asked when they finally got Asuma secured.

"I'm not sure, but hopefully it's progress and not something worse," Tsunade said.

They watched as Asuma continued to thrash around on the bed, yelling and pulling at the restraints.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba laid on Kurenai's chest, his hand rubbing at her bare stomach. "I can't wait to meet them."

"I know the feeling," Kurenai said as she placed her hand on his. "We're actually lucky in that respect."

Kiba looked up at her face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, since I'm having twins, I'll have to give birth to them quicker than the others will," Kurenai explained.

"Why?"

Kurenai chuckled at Kiba's confused face. "Because there isn't enough room for them both to grow inside me. They'll have to be born prematurely."

"But isn't dangerous for them to be more too early?"

"It is more of a risk, yes, but we don't have to worry too much. Tsunade will make sure that they are well taken care of," Kurenai said. She then sat up and attempted to get off the bed, but wasn't having very much luck.

Kiba got off the bed and went around to help her. "Where you going?"

"I thought I'd take a walk."

"I'll join you," Kiba said happily.

When they got outside, they headed in no particular direction. They were just enjoying each other's company and the good weather. They walked to the market place and looked around for a bit. Kiba found a couple of dolls that caught his eye and thought they would be absolutely perfect for the kids, Kurenai saw a couple of beautiful blankets that would match the colors of the children's nursery, and they both found a delicious snack that they bought and took to the park to eat.

"How was that mission you, Hinata, and Shino went on the other day?" Kurenai asked.

"Eh, it was nothing special," Kiba said. "Piece of cake really."

Akamaru lifted his head up and barked.

"What? It went well," Kiba argued.

Akamaru barked again and the look on Kiba's face made Kurenai laugh.

"Doesn't sound like he agrees with you," Kurenai said.

"Ah, he doesn't know what he's talking about," Kiba said as he crossed his arms and looked away. "It's not like I meant to start that land slide," he said quieter.

"Land slide?" Kurenai asked shocked.

"It was nothing, honest," Kiba said looking back at her. "No one got hurt. Although, it did take a while to clean up."

Kurenai shook her head. "I can't even imagine how you could've managed that."

"It was an accident, honest!" Kiba shouted.

"Ok, ok," Kurenai said raising her hands. "Calm down. If everything turned out ok, then it doesn't matter. Just try to be more careful next time."

"I know," Kiba said.

"You know, your parents will want to know what we're having," Kurenai said to change the subject.

"Yeah, I thought maybe we could go there after this," Kiba said.

"Sounds like a plan, but I would like to stay here for a little while longer," Kurenai said.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru and Temari went to his parents' house after they left the hospital to tell them what Shikamaru was having. His mom was happy about the news, but Shikaku was still a little unsure about the whole thing, but gave them encouraging words anyway. Now Shikamaru was outside laying on the grass watching the clouds float by in the sky.

Temari walked over to him and laid down next to him, causing Shikamaru to take his eyes off the sky for only a moment before he looked back up. "What you thinking about?" Temari asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

"You know I don't believe that," Temari said. She moved closer to him and draped her arm across his chest, snuggling up next to him.

"You won't like it," Shikamaru said.

Temari looked up at him, but he refused to look at her. "What do you mean? You can tell me."

"I'm just saying you won't like it."

"What won't I like?" she said getting a bit aggravated.

"I was wondering how Asuma was doing," Shikamaru finally said.

Temari lowered her eyes and got comfortable. "You miss him don't you?" she stated more than asked.

"I've known him since I was twelve. He's been one of my best friends for so long."

"Do you regret marrying me?"

Shikamaru looked at her. "What? Never. Temari, I love you."

She looked up at his face and he could see hurt in her eyes. "Then why do I feel like I was the one you were forced to marry?"

Shikamaru looked back at the clouds. "I'm sorry, Tem. This whole thing has just been… difficult."

Temari quickly sat up. "And you think this isn't hard on me?" Shikamaru looked back at her. "Shika, I gave up everything to be with you. I left my village, my duties, to come here and live with you. I have to watch you, my husband, go through a pregnancy that I should be going through, and to make that worse, I have to live with the fact that it's not even my kid."

Shikamaru looked back up at the clouds. "Look, if it really bothers you that much, we don't have to keep the kid."

Temari's eyes went wide. "What? Are you crazy?"

"I'll let Asuma have it, then you'd never have to worry about it."

"But what about your parents?"

"It's our choice, Temari. I know they'll support us in whatever we decide."

Temari remained silent. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what the right choice was in this situation. If they kept the child, it would always be a constant reminder of what happened, and that Shikamaru will never truly be hers, but on the other hand, taking the child away from Shikamaru didn't seem like the right choice either.

Shikamaru pulled her closer and she laid her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to say something, anything to ease her mind, but even he didn't know how to fix this.

They stayed like that for a while, in silence, just getting comfort in each other.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Asuma opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision, and looked around.  _'I'm in a hospital?'_  He felt something on his wrists and ankles and looked down at them.  _'And I'm being restrained?'_  He looked up at the ceiling.  _'What the heck happened?'_

He looked over at the window and saw that it was dark out, then turned his head toward the door. "Hey! Is anyone out there?!" He waited a few minutes, but no one came. "Hey! Can anyone hear me?!"

The door opened, and a nurse came in. When she saw that Asuma was looking right at her, she quickly left the room.

"Hey! Come back!" Asuma yelled, but the girl was already gone. He sighed and looked back up at the ceiling.

After another five minutes, the door opened again and Tsunade walked in. "Asuma, how are you feeling?"

"Confused," he replied. "What's going on? How did I get here and why am I restrained?"

"You passed out while on your mission, and you're restrained because after we gave you what we hope is the antidote to this serum, you started thrashing around. We didn't want you to hurt yourself or anyone else."

"You found and antidote?" Asuma asked.

"I think so," she said as she went to the cabinet and grabbed a syringe. She brought it over and took a blood sample from Asuma. "I'll get this examined immediately," she said as she started walking out of the room.

"Hey, can't you release me?" Asuma said, making her stop and look at him.

"I'm sorry, but until we see if that serum is out of your system, you have to stay in them." She then turned and walked towards the door again. "It shouldn't take long." And with that final word she was out the door.

Asuma looked back up at the ceiling again and smiled.  _'I'll finally be cured of this dang serum's effects, and hopefully that'll make Shika feel like he can trust me again.'_

He waited for a good ten minutes before Tsunade came back in.

"Well?" Asuma asked.

Tsunade smiled at him and when she got the bed removed the restraints. "There is no trace of the serum in your blood. We've already given a dose of the antidote to Guy, and he should be good by morning."

Asuma rubbed his sore wrists, but stopped and looked at her at the mention of Guy's name. "What happened to Guy?"

"He became possessive and violent."

"Did he hurt Lee?"

"No, we were able to stop him before that, but he had a lot more of the serum in his blood than you did, so he was worse than what you were."

Asuma swung his legs over the side of the bed. "So am I free to go?"

"Yes," Tsunade replied.

Asuma smiled, got up, and started for the door.

"But, Asuma," Tsunade said. Asuma stopped and tuned back toward her. "You still can't go near Shikamaru."

Asuma frowned again. "But I'm cured of this. I won't hurt him again."

"You still have that restraining order on you, and unless Shikamaru wants to void it, it is still in effect."

Asuma lowered his head. "I understand." He then turned back around and walked out the door.


	17. Cured

Temari awoke the next morning, and when she looked out the window, she saw that the sun had barley even risen. She looked over at Shikamaru, who was still sleeping peacefully. She smiled, but that smile quickly left her face when her eyes fell on his bulging stomach. This brought back the memory of their conversation outside his parents' house, as well at the scene in the hospital when he heard Asuma was in there.

She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but just couldn't find a comfortable position.

"Will you stop moving so much, troublesome woman?" Shikamaru said annoyed with his eyes still closed.

"Sorry," she replied quieter than normal, then sat up. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stared at the floor for a few seconds before she got up, grabbed some clothes out of the dresser, and headed to the bathroom.

Once she got dressed and ate a couple pieces of toast, she left the apartment and headed for the training grounds. She needed to clear her head, and training always did that for her.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Lee stared at the two burnt eggs that sat on his plate. He never was a very good cook, and they were out of the pre-made meals that they usually kept in the house for him when Guy was out on a mission. The eggs were actually making his stomach turn, so all he was really doing was just picking at them with his fork.

He sighed and stood up, grabbed the plate, threw the eggs in the trash, and put the plate in the sink. He then went to the front door and somehow managed to get his sandals on and left.

He strolled along the semi-busy street, trying to find something that didn't turn his stomach, and finally decided on a small tea shop. He ordered something to go and headed toward Neji's house to talk to him, because he didn't want to be alone anymore, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Asuma heading in his direction.

"Asuma, you are awake!" Lee said as he quickly walked up to the man.

"Yeah," Asuma said with a smile. "I actually woke up last night after they gave me the antidote."

"Antidote? Does that mean Guy Sensei is cured too?" Lee asked hopeful.

"I don't know," Asuma replied as he rubbed the back of his head. "Lady Tsunade said they gave it to him, and that he should've been fine by this morning, but I haven't heard on way or the other if it worked or not."

Lee looked down sadly.

"But, I'm sure it did work and he's better by now," Asuma quickly added. "If he isn't home, then he probably hasn't left the hospital yet. Why don't you go check there?"

Lee looked back up at him and gave him a big smile. "I shall do that. Thank you, Asuma!" Lee said, bowing at that last part.

Asuma smiled as he watched Lee leave.  _'At least they're doing better than me and Shikamaru,'_ he thought and then continued to the store he was heading to before Lee stopped him.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru finally decided to get out of bed. He had been laying there restless ever since Temari got up, and hadn't been able to go back to sleep, so he got up, went to the bathroom, then into the living room area to find Temari.

He didn't see her in there, so he went to the kitchen to see if she was there, but again, nothing. "Where in the world is she?" He saw the plate and glass that was in the sink, and it suddenly hit him that he was really hungry. He went to the fridge and grabbed the eggs and milk, a skillet out of the cabinet, and made some scrambled eggs. That was the easiest meal he could think of and pretty much the only thing he could make on his own.

Once done, he quickly scarfed them down, downed two classes of milk, and grabbed some of the strawberries that were in the fridge and ate about half the container. He put everything he used in the sink and quickly washed them and Temari's dishes, then went into the living room and turned on the TV.

It was another hour before he realized it, and he was really wondering where Temari was.  _'The troublesome woman could've at least left some kind of note or something.'_  He sighed, turned off the TV, went to the door, slipped on his sandals, finding it too troublesome to put them on properly, and left in search of his missing wife.

He walked down the street, one hand unconsciously on his stomach, and looked through the windows of the stores he passed thinking she might be in one of them. After about fifteen minutes of searching, he was really starting to get tired.  _'Ok, I'll look for another few minutes, but then I'm going back home. Man, this is such a drag. Why did I even do this in the first place? It's way too troublesome. I know she isn't in any danger or anything.'_

He let out another sigh. He looked through the windows of a few more stores, and stopped when he saw someone standing in the line inside. "Asuma?" He smiled when he saw the older man and took a few steps to go inside, but was grabbed by the arm and pulled backwards, losing his balance and falling roughly on his butt. He grabbed his stomach, his face scrunched up in pain, then opened his eyes and looked up to see three men about his age glaring at him.

"Look guys, it's the disgusting shemale," one of the boys said.

"You're a disgrace to all mankind, Nara," another boy said.

"Yeah, you should just go die," the third boy said. "You and that stupid Lee guy."

Shikamaru glared back at them. "He's not stupid! And do you honestly think we wanted this to happen?"

The first boy raised a large stick that Shikamaru had seemed to miss before. Shikamaru's eyes went wide with fear and raised both his arms over him. "Wait!"

NNNNNNNNNNN

Inside the store, Asuma was standing in line, staring at the first ultrasound picture of his child. He wished more than anything he could've been there with Shikamaru during the second one, or that Shikamaru or Tsunade would at least tell him what Shikamaru's having, but when he went to ask Tsunade this morning, she said that it was Shikamaru's choice and if Shikamaru didn't want him to know, then he had no business knowing.

He looked up when he heard a lady behind him gasp.

"There's someone being harassed outside," the lady said.

Asuma looked outside and saw three boys surrounding someone on the ground. He also saw that the three boys had three different types of weapons: a stick, a big rock, and a brick. He left the line, laying his merchandise on a nearby table, and when he got closer to the window, he saw that the person being harassed was Shikamaru.

He saw that the boy with the stick raised his arm and was about to strike, so he quickly dashed out the door and grabbed the boy's wrist. "What do you think you're doing?" Asuma said.

The boy angrily turned his head. "Back off, old man. This doesn't concern you," the boy said as he tried to pull his wrist free, but Asuma kept a firm grip.

"It does concern me. Shikamaru is my friend and I will not let you hurt him," Asuma replied, then threw the boy toward the other boys.

The two boys caught their falling friend, then the boy with the stick quickly regained his balance and took a few steps closer to Asuma.

Asuma positioned himself in front of Shikamaru, who was staring up in shock, preparing to fight the three boys if he had too. He reached behind him and pulled out his two chakra knifes and got in a battle stance.

When the boys saw the chakra knifes, they all looked at each other then back at Asuma. "You'd better watch yourself, Nara," the first boy said, but when Asuma took a step forward, they all stumbled over each other and ran away.

Asuma smiled and put the chakra blades back in his pouch, turned around, and held out a hand to Shikamaru. "You alright?"

Shikamaru smiled at him and grabbed Asuma's hand. "Yeah," he said as he struggled to get off the ground.

NNNNNNNNN

Temari made her way through the crowd back toward her home. The training she did really helped, and she felt a little better. She thought about what Shikamaru said about giving the child to Asuma if she didn't want to keep it, and she still wasn't a hundred percent sure if that was the right thing to do or not. She didn't want to hurt Shikamaru by making him give up the child to the man that hurt him and that couldn't come around him anymore, but she really didn't know if they could ever live normally with the child around.

She sighed and closed her eyes as she walked around the corner, and when she opened them, the rage that she thought she finally got rid of came right back. She saw Asuma right next to Shikamaru, Asuma's back toward her. She stomped over to them.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

Asuma quickly turned around, eyes wide. He knew that he was dead, but hoped she would at least hear her out before she did, but before he could say a word, Shikamaru stepped in front of him.

"Calm down, Temari. It's not what you think," Shikamaru said with a calm voice.

"Not what I think? Asuma is not supposed to be anywhere near you, Shikamaru!" Temari yelled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He saved me."

Temari lowered her arms. "What?"

"Three jerks were harassing me, and Asuma came to help, that's it. He hasn't tried anything," Shikamaru explained.

"And I won't," Asuma added taking a step closer. Temari glared at him again. He raised his hands and backed up again. "Tsunade found the cure for this serum. I won't hurt him anymore. I swear, Temari, I would die before I hurt him again."

"And I'll be the one to kill you if you do," Temari said.

"Will you two just stop," Shikamaru said raising his voice. Both Asuma and Temari looked at him. Shikamaru looked over at Temari. "Look, let's just go home. I'm tired and my feet are killing right now."

"Maybe you should go to the hospital and have Tsunade check you out," Asuma said.

"And why should he do that?" Temari questioned still angry.

"Because when I got out here, Shikamaru was on the ground. Unless those guys helped him sit down carefully, and I don't think they did, Shikamaru had to have fallen."

Temari quickly looked at Shikamaru with concern. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, but I'm…" Shikamaru started, but Temari cut him off.

"You're going to the hospital," Temari said as she grabbed Shikamaru wrist and started dragging him toward the hospital.

Asuma just watched and lowered his head sadly. He knew that was the end of the conversation, but looked back up when Shikamaru spoke up.

"Will you wait," Shikamaru said jerking his wrist out of her grasp.

Temari looked back at him surprised and saw him turning back to Asuma. "Shikamaru we need to…"

"I know. I'll go, but there's something I have to do first," Shikamaru said. He stopped in front of Asuma, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small paper and handed it to Asuma. "Here."

Asuma looked at the paper in Shikamaru's hand then up at Shikamaru's face. "What is it?"

"It's a picture from the second ultrasound. I thought you might want it," Shikamaru replied.

Asuma smiled, took it from Shikamaru's hand, and looked at the black and white photo. He looked back up at Shikamaru. "Thank you."

"I'm sure you'd like to know that it's a boy," Shikamaru said. "Temari and I have already picked out a name for him. I hope that's ok."

Asuma looked back down at the picture. "What's his name?"

"Tobikuma."

Asuma looked up at him again surprised. "Flying cloud?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru said, his cheeks a little red. He leaned in closer to Asuma whispered in his ear so Temari couldn't hear. "Temari originally did it as a joke, but after I thought about it, I thought it fit because… that day…"

Asuma pulled away. "I think I understand."

Shikamaru was now very red. "Just don't go saying that's the reason to anyone," he said not looking at Asuma.

"I promise," Asuma said smiling. He looked over at Temari who was glaring at him again. "You'd better go before your wife kills me."

Shikamaru looked back at Temari then back at Asuma. "Yeah." He turned around and walked back over to Temari.

"What was that?" Temari asked as they continued to the hospital.

"Nothing," Shikamaru said and put both his hands in his pants pockets.

"Shikamaru," Temari asked.

He could tell she was worried, so he stopped and looked directly at her. "Look, you don't have to worry," he said giving her a smile. "It's just something between me and him, ok?"

Temari looked away. "Fine." She continued walking again, and Shikamaru followed.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Lee walked into the hospital and saw Tsunade talking with Ino. "Lady Tsunade," he said as he walked up to them.

"Lee, what can I do for you?" Tsunade asked.

"I saw Asuma on the street and he said that you found an antidote to the serum, and that you gave it to Guy Sensei too. Did it work? Is he ok now?"

"Well…"

"AGHHH!"

Lee, Tsunade, and Ino looked down the hall where the scream came from.

"Th-that was Guy Sensei," Lee said alarmed.

Tsunade looked back at him. "It's part of the process. Apparently it is a painful recovery."

"Yeah, but Asuma wasn't like that for this long," Ino said a bit worried.

"This long?" Lee asked.

Tsunade glared at Sakura for saying that in front of Lee, but then turned to Lee and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Guy had a lot more of the serum in his blood than Asuma did. It makes since that it's taking longer."

Lee didn't look away from the direction of Guy's screams. "C-can I see him?"

"That's not a good idea right now," Tsunade said. "After he calms down, then you can, but until then, if you wish to stay, you have to stay in the waiting room."

"Very well," Lee said. He slowly walked toward one of the seats in the waiting room.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Ino said. "I didn't even think about what I was saying."

"It's all right, but next time…"

"I know, be careful what I say in front of patient's families," Ino finished.

Tsunade nodded and was about to head back to Guy's room when she noticed Shikamaru and Temari walk in. "Ino, find out what they need," she said nodded in the direction of Shikamaru and Temari, "and if it's something urgent let me know. I'll be in with Guy."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ino replied. She walked over to Shikamaru and Temari. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"Shikamaru was harassed on the street and the jerks made him fall on his butt," Temari said.

"Troublesome woman. You didn't have to put it like that," Shikamaru said a little red.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Will you check to make sure the baby's ok?"

"Sure. Come with me," Ino said. She walked them to a room and stopped in front of the door. "You go on in and have a seat. I'll go get the equipment."

Shikamaru and Temari both nodded, walked in the room, and sat down on the bed. A few minutes later, Ino came in with the ultra sound machine.

"Alright, Shikamaru, I'll raise the head of the bed and then you can lay back," Ino said.

"Ok."

Once all the preparations were done, Ino spread the gel onto Shikamaru's stomach, placed the probe on it, and a picture showed up on the monitor. "Has the baby moved since the incident?" she asked not looking away from the monitor.

"Not really, but then again, he hasn't really moved a whole lot that," Shikamaru said.

Ino looked over at him and smiled. "Well, he is your son, so that makes sense."

Shikamaru smiled then looked up at the monitor. "So, is he ok?"

Ino looked up and moved the probe a bit more, putting a little pressure on Shikamaru's stomach to try and get the baby to move, and finally the baby moved.

"He moved!" Temari said happily.

"Yeah, but I'm still getting use to this machine and don't quite know everything. He looks ok, but I think I'll go tell Lady Tsunade what happened and have her come in and check." She placed the probe down on the bed and stood up. "I'll be right back," she said then left the room.

Temari grabbed Shikamaru's hand. "He's fine," Shikamaru tried to reassure her. "He's moving, and I fell on my butt, so I don't think it should've hurt him."

"Yeah, but what if it did?" Temari asked worried.

"I don't think it did, but that's why we're here, right?"

"Yeah."

Tsunade and Ino walked into the room and Tsunade took Ino's place. She placed the probe on Shikamaru's stomach and began looking at the screen. She flipped a switch to listen to the heart beat, and focused on the screen closely. She turned off the machine, wiped of the gel from Shikamaru's stomach, and used her chakra to check the baby herself.

The silence was really starting to worry Shikamaru and Temari, but they relaxed when they saw Tsunade smile.

"I don't see anything wrong with the baby. You were lucky. Usually a fall can be harmful to an unborn child," Tsunade finally said.

Shikamaru breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he said as he lowered his shirt and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"Has Asuma approached you?" Tsunade asked.

"He's the one that saved me from the three guys," Shikamaru replied.

"You do remember that he has a restraining order on him right?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied sadly. "But he saved me, it doesn't count right?" he quickly asked.

"No, I'll let that slide, but he's not to approach you for any other reason, unless you void the restraining order."

Shikamaru was about to respond, but Temari spoke up first. "Thanks, but we'll keep it for now."

Shikamaru looked away.

"Alright, if there are any complications, I want you back here immediately, you understand?" Tsunade said.

"Yes," Temari said when Shikamaru didn't respond.

"Ok, now go home and get some rest. Nothing may have happened, but I want you to take it easy for a couple days just to be safe," Tsunade said as she stood up from her seat.

Shikamaru stood up and walked toward the door. Temari was a bit surprised, but followed him and they both left the room.

"He didn't look to happy," Ino said.

"He didn't like the idea of the restraining order in the first place," Tsunade said.

Ino looked at her. "Then why'd he get it?"

"Shikaku got it for him, and it looks like Temari's going to make him keep it."

Ino looked back at the door. "She can't do that, can she?"

"Technically no, but if he doesn't want to go against Temari's wishes, he won't give it up."

"Poor Shika. This can't be easy for him. He and Asuma were always so close," Ino said.

"Get back to your rounds. I'll clean up here."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ino said then left.

NNNNNNNNNN

"Lee. Lee."

Lee slowly opened his eyes and saw Ino looking down at him. "Ino?"

Ino smiled at him. "Lady Tsunade told me to come get you. Guy's calmed down and you can see him now."

"Really?" Lee said with a huge smile.

"Yeah," Ino replied helping him out of the chair. "Lady Tsunade is doing a blood test to see if the serum's out, you should find out soon."

"Thank you, Ino," Lee said and walked down the hall. He saw Tsunade go in and out of the room enough to know which door was Guy's, but looked in the window just to make sure.

He saw Guy resting in the bed and quickly opened the door and went in. "Guy Sensei!"

Guy turned his head to look at Lee. Lee could tell he was exhausted, but was still trying to show Lee that he was ok.

"How are you feeling?" Lee asked as he pulled a chair over and sat down.

"Better," Guy replied, voice hoarse from all the screaming.

"That is good," Lee said. "It has been lonely at the house without you."

"Lady Tsunade said that I should be able to go home soon if the serums out of my blood," Guy said. "Could you hand me my water?"

Lee looked over at the bedside stand and grabbed the glass of water and brought it up to Guy's mouth. Guy sucked some water through the straw then laid back and closed his eyes.

"You should rest. I have heard that you have been through a lot," Lee said.

Guy smiled and looked back at Lee. "I will once I hear the results. How are you and our son?"

"We are fine. Guy Sensei, how much do you remember?"

"Not much. I remember the ultrasound, but when we got home it starts getting fuzzy. I remember we were doing something on the couch, but I don't remember what we talked about."

"We were trying to pick out a name," Lee said a bit sadly.

Guy's eyes went wide. "Oh, Lee, I'm so sorry."

Lee gave him a weak smile. "It is ok."

"Did we decide on one?"

"Well, I did. You seemed to agree, but if you do not remember it then you probably did not mean it."

"What did you decide on? I'm sure I will like it."

"Taro. It means 'strong boy.'"

Guy smiled. "That's perfect."

Lee smiled. "You think so?"

"Yeah. It's perfect because our son will be a strong boy."

"I am glad that you like it," Lee said happily.

They talked about a few other things until Tsunade returned to the room.

"Is Guy Sensei cured?" Lee asked.

"Yes, we didn't find a trace of it in the sample we took," Tsunade replied. "However," Lee and Guy lost their smiles at that, "you have to make sure that it does not get back into your blood."

"So what does that mean?" Lee asked.

"It means that until we can get the serum out of your blood, Lee, you two can NOT have sex."

Lee blushed a little. "Ok."

"We'll be careful, ma'am," Guy said.

"Careful is not what I said, Guy. I mean it, no sex until we get the serum out of Lee's blood. If this happens again, it may not be as effective next time," Tsunade said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"Like most drugs and antidotes, if you use it a lot, it becomes less and less effective. So if you keep getting the serum in your blood and we have to keep giving you the antidote, it may not work and we would be back to square one," Tsunade explained.

"I understand. We won't have sex," Guy said.

"Good," Tsunade said. "Now get some rest, Guy. Lee, you can stay too if you'd like, but he needs his rest."

"I understand. I will let him rest," Lee said.

Tsunade nodded and left the room smiling.  _'Finally, things are getting set right. Now we just have to figure out who did this and why.'_


	18. First Delivery

Over the next couple months, things had started to return to normal. Asuma and Shikamaru's relationship was starting to get a lot better now. For a while, Shikamaru had to sneak out to see Asuma, because Temari still wasn't so happy about him seeing Asuma, but after a couple weeks, she finally saw that it was actually helping Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was starting to become his old self again. He was smiling more, talking more, and his and Temari's relationship was actually starting to improve now. That's when Temari finally accepted things. She even surprised Shikamaru when she showed up at Asuma's while Shikamaru was still there.

"T-Temari!" Asuma said in a bit of a panic.

"Look, I know Shikamaru is here," she said, and as if to prove her point, Shikamaru appeared next to Asuma at the door.

"Temari, it's not…" Shikamaru began, but Temari raised her hand to stop him.

"I know you've been sneaking out to come see him, Shika," Temari said. "At first I wasn't happy about it, but now I see that it's actually helping you."

Shikamaru moved his way past Asuma and got closer to Temari with a big smile on his face. "You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that."

"He really has been stressing over it," Asuma said, making the two look at him.

Temari sighed and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Shikamaru. "Here."

Shikamaru looked at the paper confused, but took it and looked at it. His eyes went wide. "This is the restraining order!"

"You're obviously not listening to it anyway, so just rip it up already," Temari said.

Shikamaru lowered the paper, not even making an attempt to rip it. "I'm sorry, Tem. I…"

Temari scowled at him, grabbed the paper from his hand, and ripped it in half. "Look, it's not doing any good, so why keep it around," she said a bit loudly. She then turned her attention to Asuma. "I can see that being around you has helped Shikamaru a lot. He hasn't been coming home depressed anymore, so I'm assuming that you're actually keeping your word and not touching him, so as long as that remains the norm, I won't try and stop him." Her face suddenly went scary and she pointed straight at Asuma. "But I swear, Asuma, if I find out you so much as flirted at him, I'll kill you where you stand. Do you understand?"

Asuma raised both his hands and nodded. "Completely."

Shikamaru just smiled at the two.

After that, things went on as if the whole situation never happened. There were times that Shikamaru came over and in the middle of a game of Shogi he looked over and saw a bulge in Asuma's pants, but Asuma never did anything about it, and even made an excuse for Shikamaru to leave.

Now, however, was not one of those times. Asuma was staring at Shikamaru a bit concerned. He had noticed that Shikamaru's head wasn't in the game today, and that he kept rubbing his stomach more than usual. It was actually starting to worry him.

"Shikamaru?," Asuma finally said.

Shikamaru looked up at him. "Hmm. Uh, yeah?" he asked a little confused.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Because you've been a bit distracted today."

"I have?"

"Yeah, your head's not in the game, and you keep rubbing your stomach. Are you feeling ok?"

Shikamaru smiled and chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine. Tobi's just moving around a lot more today. Well, the part about me being distracted is because I'm just thinking about what lady Tsunade said a while back."

"About the baby? Is he ok?" Asuma asked starting to really get worried.

Shikamaru smiled. "Don't worry, he's fine. No, what I'm talking about is actually about Temari."

"Temari? Why would you need to talk to Lady Tsunade about Temari?" Asuma asked now completely confused.

Shikamaru blushed. "Uh… Well, you see…" Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head. "About a month ago, uh… well, Temari and I… we had sex."

Asuma's face went a little red, but smiled. "You two are married, Shikamaru. It's only natural that you two have sex."

"Yeah, I know that, but with the whole serum thing, we've been trying to be more careful about it."

"So she doesn't end up like I was," Asuma stated more than asked.

"Yeah. Before you were cured from it, we weren't really doing anything, so it wasn't really a problem."

Asuma looked away. "I'm sorry."

Shikamaru blinked at him then realized what he just said. "No, it's not your fault. Don't worry about it. It's in the past and we're doing fine now."

Asuma looked back at him. "So then what's got you so worried?"

"Well, nothing's worrying me now."

"Now?"

"Well, the next day when we realized that we weren't so careful, we went to Tsunade and had her check Temari to see if we made a huge mistake and got the serum in her too."

"And? Did you?"

"No, that's the weird thing. She said there was no trace of it, but I know that I… uh… released myself inside her several times," he replied, getting red at the last part.

"So Temari's immune to the serum?" Asuma asked.

"I have no idea," Shikamaru said. "Tsunade said she was sure she was going to find a trace of it, but it's as if the serum doesn't react the same way it did with you and Guy."

Asuma thought about this for a second. "Maybe this serum was directed specifically towards men so that's why it's not affecting Temari."

"Maybe," Shikamaru said then took in a sharp breath and rubbed his stomach again. "Dang it, kid, why are you so active today?"

Asuma smiled. He looked at Shikamaru's stomach and longed to feel his child moving inside Shikamaru.

"You want to feel it?" Shikamaru suddenly asked.

Asuma was a bit surprised. "How did…"

"The way you were looking at me."

Asuma blushed a little. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Do you?"

Asuma nodded and got up from his seat. He sat back down next to Shikamaru and reached out towards Shikamaru's stomach, but stopped before he touched it.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and grabbed Asuma's hand and placed it on his stomach where the baby was kicking.

Asuma's eyes went wide and a huge smile spread across his face. Shikamaru just laughed.

"What?" Asuma asked not removing his hand from the spot.

"You look like Kiba when he feels his kids kicking," Shikamaru said.

Asuma blushed again and removed his hand. "I've never felt that before."

"It's fine, I just found it funny."

Asuma got back up and sat back in his own seat. Shikamaru finally made his move on the board and their game continued.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba walked into the kitchen and saw Kurenai siting at the table drinking what smelled like tea. "No coffee this morning?" he asked as he went over to the cabinet to get a cup. As he turned to get the juice out of the fridge, he saw Akamaru laying down by Kurenai's chair. "Hey, boy." He got the juice, poured it in the cup, and joined Kurenai at the table, and noticed Akamaru was laying back down again.

Kurenai looked deep in thought about something when he looked back at her and realized that she still hadn't answered him yet. "You ok?" he asked. When she still didn't answer, he raised his voice a little. "Hey."

Kurenai looked up at him a bit surprised. "Huh? Oh, good morning," she said with a smile.

Kiba looked at her concerned. "You ok? Is something wrong with the babies? Should we get you to a hospital?" he panicked and stood up at the last question.

Kurenai chuckled. "Calm down, Kiba. I'm fine." At this Kiba sat back down a little calmer. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Just about the last few months and how we're going to be parents in a few weeks."

"I thought we were parents the moment we knew about the babies?" Kiba asked slightly confused.

Kurenai smiled again. "Well, yeah, we are, but when they get here it just makes it official. It's a little overwhelming, even after all this time."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kiba agreed. "I still can't believe I'm married to my sensei."

"Former sensei, but I get what you mean," Kurenai said. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"Shino and Hinata asked me if I wanted to train with them today, so I was thinking about doing that."

"That's good. You should keep up your training even though I can't train with you guys."

Kiba smiled. "I think I've been keeping my training up with you quite well."

Kurenai shook her head and smiled. "So how are Shino and Hinata anyway? Haven't seen them in a while."

"They're doing pretty good. Hinata said that Naruto had started noticing her a little more lately. I think it's because Shikamaru finally said something to that idiot," Kiba said.

"Good for her, and I heard Shikamaru was becoming more like his old self since he and Asuma started making up. I know how close those two were, and I was afraid that after what happened they would never be that close again."

"Yeah, I know," Kiba said sadly, but perked back up again. "But that's behind them now. I even heard that Temari's even going to let Asuma be in the kid's life again."

"That's good," Kurenai said with a smile.

"Yeah. Anyway, as for Shino, he's pretty much the same, 'though I've heard he was talking to Iruka Sensei more these days," Kiba said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but I have no idea why. Maybe it's because me and Hinata have been so busy lately."

"Maybe. Are you hungry?" I can make you something real fast," Kurenai said as she started to get up.

"No, no," Kiba said putting his hands up to stop her. Kurenai stopped trying to get up and turned back to him. "We actually agreed to meet up before training to eat something, so you don't have to."

"Ok," Kurenai said and took a drink of her tea. She made a face when she realized it was now cold.

"Anyway, I should probably head out," Kiba said as he stood up.

Kurenai again tried to get up, but this time Kiba helped her when he saw her struggling. "Thanks," she said when she was finally on her fee. "I can't wait to have these kids so I can stand up on my own again."

Kiba chuckled. "I bet."

They walked to the front door, Akamaru following close behind, and Kiba opened the door. "Well, I'll see you in a few hours," he said and kissed Kurenai.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile after they broke off the kiss.

"Come on, Akamaru," Kiba said and walked out the door, but stopped and turned around when he didn't sense Akamaru following him. "Come on, boy. We don't want to be late."

Akamaru whined and moved closer to Kurenai.

Kurenai looked down at Akamaru surprised. "It looks like he doesn't want to go."

Kiba frowned. "he's been hanging around you a lot lately. I know mom and pop said that dogs become more protective when women in the clan get pregnant, but he's never refused to go with me before when I go somewhere."

"Well, Lady Tsunade did say that because I'm having twins my dew date is earlier than the others. Maybe he just wants to make sure I'm ok."

Kiba walked over and knelt down in front of Akamaru and pet him on the face with both hands. "Is that it, boy? You just want to watch over Kurenai?"

Akamaru barked and wagged his tail.

"Guess that answers that," Kurenai said.

"Yeah," Kiba replied with a smile. He gave one more rub on Akamaru's head, stood up, pecked Kurenai on the lips, and walked out the door. "See ya," he said as the door closed.

Kurenai smiled and looked down at Akamaru. "So, what should we do today?"

Akamaru turned his head and whined.

Kurenai laughed. "Well, how 'bout we start by getting something to eat, then we can decide?"

Akamaru barked and wagged his tail again.

Kurenai just laughed and walked toward the kitchen, Akamaru right on her heels.

NNNNNNNNNNN

After they ate, Kurenai decided she wanted to get out of the house. They walked around the village, looking at a few things in the shop windows, and finally made it to the park where Kurenai found a bench to sit on, Akamaru laying down by her feet.

She rubbed the lower part of her stomach for the tenth time since they left the house. She was getting a little concerned with the slight pain she'd been feeling. It started right after she used the bathroom that morning, and it had gradually been getting worse, especially during the walk, but it hadn't been a constant pain, just a strong pain every several minutes. Now, however, the pain was every minute.

 _'_ _Well, it's not like I haven't felt these pains before…'_  She took in a sharp breath.  _'... but they've never been this bad. Maybe I should've had Kiba take me to the hospital after all.'_

She looked down when she felt someone staring at her and saw Akamaru looking up at her. He turned his head when they made eye contact. "I'm ok," she answered the dog's unspoken question. "I think," she said after another sharp pain flooded her abdomen.

Akamaru straightened up a little more, fully alert.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital just to be safe."

Akamaru immediately stood up and was at her side in an instant.

They slowly made their way to the hospital, the pain getting worse as they went, but a few blocks from the hospital, Kurenai doubled over. The pain was so bad now that she could barely stand n her feet. The only thing keeping her up was Akamaru.

"Akamaru, I think I'm in labor."

Akamaru whined. He got as close to Kurenai as possible and tried to help her move forward, but she let out a loud yell on the next step.

"Are you ok, Kurenai Sensei?"

Kurenai looked up and saw Naruto staring at her in concern. "No. I think I'm in labor," she said through the pain.

"What?" Naruto yelled as he took a step back. "Where's Kiba? Why isn't he helping you?"

"He… He's training with Shino and… Hinata," she managed to get out before she let out another shout.

Naruto stepped over and grabbed Kurenai's arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. He then swept her off her feet and ran toward the hospital, Akamaru following closely.

When they got there, Naruto kicked the door open and walked in as Kurenai let out another shout, which got the attention of everyone in the room.

Shizune rushed over to them. "What's wrong?"

"I… I think I'm… in labor," Kurenai said.

"Naruto, quickly, follow me," Shizune said and lead them to a room. Naruto went straight to the bed and sat Kurenai down gently. "Now go find Kiba," she ordered as she checked Kurenai over.

"Right!" Naruto said and ran out of the room.

Akamaru whined and got closer to the bed.

"Oh no you don't," Shizune said and grabbed him by the fur of his neck. "Sorry, Akamaru, but you can't be in here."

Akamaru continued to whine and tried to get back to Kurenai.

"She'll be fine. Go wait for Kiba and show him to the room when he get here," Shizune told him.

Akamaru looked back at Kurenai then turned and walked down the hall. He stopped in front of the entrance doors and sat there, staring at them, waiting for Kiba to walk in.

NNNNNNNNNNN

"Kiba!"

Kiba turned around and saw Naruto running toward them. He was in the middle of sparring with Shino and was grateful when he didn't feel the punch he saw coming before Naruto yelled his name. "What's up, Naruto?" he asked when Naruto got close.

Naruto stopped in front of him panting a bit. "It's Kurenai."

Kiba's eyes went wide and Hinata and Shino got closer. "What's wrong with her?" Kiba asked panicking.  _'I knew I shouldn't have left her today.'_

"She said she was in labor. I got her to the hospital, but she looked like she was… Where'd he go?" Naruto asked when he noticed Kiba was no longer in front of him. He turned and saw Kiba already leaving.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shino all followed.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba burst through the doors and Akamaru stood up and walked toward him.

"Where's she at, boy?"

Akamaru barked then turned and headed down the hall. He stopped in front of one of the doors and sat down. They both looked at the door when they heard Kurenai shout and Kiba rushed into the room leaving Akamaru alone.

When Akamaru smelled Hinata and Shino walk in the hospital, he turned and walked over to them and right up to Hinata, who pet him on the head.

"Hey, Akamaru," Hinata said.

Akamaru whined and looked up at her.

Hinata smiled. "She'll be ok. Why don't we go sit down and wait?"

Akamaru walked over to one of the chairs and sat down and looked over at Hinata.

Hinata smiled and she, Shino, and Naruto all went to set down too.

A few minutes later, Kiba's parents and Hana walked in the door. They said hello to the three and took a seat waiting for the babies to be born.

"Wait," Naruto said. "How did you guys know Kurenai was in labor?"

"before we left the training ground, I sent some of my insects to Kiba's parent's house and Hana's veterinary clinic to let them know," Shino said.

"And we appreciate it. Thank you," Hana said.

"Oh, ok," Naruto said.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Everyone had been sitting in the waiting room for an hour and a half now, and Hinata could tell that Naruto was getting restless, but she was happy that he was still there with her. She had also noticed Akamaru had lifted his head up a few times only to lay it back down, but now he was just staring down the hall.

Before she had the chance to say anything, Kiba walked out the door. Akamaru got up and walked over to him, but the others just waited for Kiba to get to them.

"So, are we grandparents now?" Inuken asked.

Kiba beamed. "Yeah, a girl and boy just like Lady Tsunade said, but they had to take them to the incubators since they were born so early."

"That can only be expected. Why? Because they were not fully developed yet when they were born," Shino said.

"Yeah, but Shizune said they were both healthy and we'll be able to take them home in a couple weeks," Kiba said.

"That's great," Hinata said.

"But can we see them before then?" Inuken asked.

"Yeah, we just have to wait until they're all set up in the incubators," Kiba said. "Shizune said she'd let us know when we can see them."

"How's Kurenai doing?" Tsume asked.

"She's tired and resting now, but she'll be able to see the kids when she wakes up," Kiba said.

"She saw them before they took them away right?" Hana asked.

"Yeah, she did," Kiba replied.

Hana nodded satisfied with the answer.

Shizune cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her. "You can see the kids now."

Everyone followed Shizune down a few halls until they got to a room with the two incubators. "Kiba and Kurenai already got to hold them, however, because they need to spend as much time as they can in the incubators, I'm afraid not all of you can hold them right now."

"We can, right?" Tsume asked.

"Yes, you and your husband can, but I'm afraid the rest of you will have to wait," Shizune said.

"That's ok," Hinata said with a smile. "We can wait. We can see them through the glass, so that's good enough for us, right, Shino?"

Shino just nodded.

"Ok then. Tsume, Inuken, please come with me," Shizune said.

NNNNNNNNNNN

After a little over two weeks, Kiba and Kurenai finally brought Takeshi and Tamiko home.

"Welcome home, Takeshi, Tamiko," Kiba said happily.

They took the twins to their cribs in their room and laid them down. Once they got the twins settled and they were asleep, Kiba and Kurenai stepped back and watched their kids sleep.

Kiba wrapped his arm around Kurenai's waist. "We did good."

Kurenai smiled. "Yes, we did."

They watched the kids for another minute before they left the room.


	19. Attack!

It had been two weeks since Kiba and Kurenai brought home Takeshi and Tamiko, and Shikamaru and Temari decided that it was finally time to go visit them and meet the two new additions to the village.

"Shikamaru, move your lazy butt!" Temari yelled from the front door.

"Troublesome woman. You know I can't move very fast with this kid," Shikamaru said.

Temari rolled her eyes and knelt down.

Shikamaru smirked. "A simple apology would've been fine."

Temari glared at him as she grabbed his sandal. "I should make you walk barefoot."

Shikamaru just smiled at her and placed his hand on the wall so he didn't fall over when he lifted his foot.

After Temari got the sandals on him, they headed out and over to the Inuzuka's house.

It took a minute for someone to answer, but they finally saw Kiba open the door, but they didn't expect to see him in the state he was in. His hair was ruffled more than normal and he had dark circles under his eyes. It also looked like he had something caked onto the front of his shirt that didn't really smell the best.

"What happened to you?" Temari asked.

"Takeshi and Tamiko happened," Kiba said. "I haven't had a decent night's sleep since they got home."

"What a drag," Shikamaru said knowing that it would soon be them in the same state in about a month.

"Yeah, it's been a nightmare," Kiba agreed. "Who knew babies like to stay up all hours of the night."

"Can we see the two little nightmares?" Temari asked.

"Well, they're asleep right now, but if you want to stay and wait you can," Kiba said. "Just don't wake them up."

Shikamaru and Temari nodded and walked in. They followed Kiba to the living room where Kurenai was reading  _Inside Your Child's Mind._

"Good read?" Temari asked as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to Kurenai.

Shikamaru carefully eased himself into the recliner that was next to the couch, holding his stomach and grunting as he pretty much fell the last few inches into the chair.

"Yeah," Kurenai replied as she closed the book and sat it on the coffee table in front of the couch. "I actually started reading it after I found out I was pregnant, but I didn't' really believe half the stuff it said, so I didn't finish it."

"So did it know what it was talking about?" Temari asked.

"Yes and no," Kurenai said. "There's a couple things that have helped, but others that are just ridiculous."

"Yeah, like when it says it's ok to leave a crying kid in a room alone. It only makes them scream louder," Kiba said as he sat down next to his wife.

"Kiba, they were burning up when I checked on them," Kurenai said a little aggravated at the memory.

"Well, jeez, Kiba. You're not supposed to try and kill your kids," Temari said.

Kiba went red. "But it said to make sure they stay bundled up."

"Only when it's cold enough to make them sick," Kurenai said.

"Man, it sounds like this is all so troublesome," Shikamaru said.

"Everything is troublesome to you," Temari said.

"That's because everything is. Especially this kid today," Shikamaru said rubbing his stomach.

"He moving around a lot?" Kurenai asked.

"Hey hasn't stopped since four thirty this morning," Shikamaru replied.

"So you must be tired then," Kiba said.

"Yeah, I am, but with the kid moving the way he is, I don't think I'll get much sleep," Shikamaru said.

"You're not in labor, are you?" Kiba asked panicking a bit.

Temari looked at Shikamaru wide eyed. "Are you?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I'm only a little past eight months. If I were going to have him early, it'd probably be in another couple weeks, but this is my kid."

"Yeah," Kiba said. "It's probably too lazy to be born. Probably think it's 'too troublesome.'"

Everyone laughed at Kiba trying to copy Shikamaru's low, lazy tone of talking.

In the middle of all the laughter, Akamaru started barking.

"What is it, boy?" Kiba asked.

Now that there was no more noise, they could hear soft crying from another part of the house.

"Oh, man," Kiba said. "They woke up already? It's not even been an hour."

Kurenai stood up. "Calm down, Kiba. I'll take care of them."

"I'll help," Temari said and stood up.

The two women left the room and Kiba turned to Shikamaru. "So, you ready to have the kid?"

Shikamaru rubbed his stomach again trying to calm Tobikuma down. "More than ready, and I'm never doing this again."

"I can't even imagine being in your shoes, especially after watching Kurenai give birth to both the kids," Kiba said. "I have a new respect for women."

"Yeah, me too," Shikamaru said. "I never knew how bad women actually have it during pregnancy."

"So when you knock up Temari, you won't complain as much," Kiba asked with a sly smile.

Shikamaru blushed a little. "I probably will, but I'll also know what she's going through and hopefully be able to help her better."

Kiba nodded in understanding and they both turned their heads when they heard the women come back in.

Shikamaru watched as Temari walked back over to the couch, and saw Kiba move over so she could sit next to Shikamaru. Temari was holding Tamiko and Shikamaru could see that she had black hair that looked a little rough like Kiba's, but still looked like it was soft, a perfect combination of Kiba and Kurenai's hair. He watched as the baby studied Temari, and could see a hint of red in her eyes, which he figured meant she inherited Kurenai's eye. As for the rest of her face, Shikamaru couldn't see it that well, but decided from the angle he was at, she got Kiba's facial structure.

"Would you like to hold him?"

Shikamaru looked up and saw Kurenai holding Takeshi. His hair was as shaggy and rough looking as Kiba's, but looked like a male version of Kurenai.

"Uh…" Shikamaru said just staring at the baby.

"That's why you guys came over, right?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah, but…" Shikamaru started, but was cut off.

"Oh just hold the baby," Temari said.

Kurenai handed Takeshi to Shikamaru, who carefully positioned the child over his bulging stomach so as not to hurt his own kid.

Takeshi squirmed a bit and made a face that looked like he was about to cry, but opened his eyes instead to look at the unfamiliar person holding him.

Shikamaru stared into the deep, red eyes.  _'Well, I guess they both inherited Kurenai's eyes. I wonder if that means they'll both have an affinity for genjutsu?'_

"I wonder if your kid will be as cute as these two?" Temari said.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, ignoring the smirk his wife was giving him.

"So, what was wrong with them?" Kiba asked when he realized Shikamaru wasn't going to reply.

"I don't know," Kurenai said. "We feed them before they laid down, and they don't have dirty diapers. They just seem… agitated."

Shikamaru looked over at Kurenai.  _'Almost like Tobi.'_  He looked down at the baby in his arms, face scrunched up in thought.  _'Do they know something we don't?'_

"Hey, why are you looking at my kid like that?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru looked up at him. "When did they start getting like this?" he asked ignoring Kiba's question.

"Let's see," Kurenai said looking up. "I'd say around three thirty, four this morning. Why?" she asked looking back at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked back down at Takeshi. "I think it's a little odd that both Tobi and the twins are both agitated today, especially since they all started getting that way around the same time."

"You think they sense something we can't?" Kiba asked.

"I have heard that babies pick up on things a little easier than adults can," Shikamaru said looking back up.

"Who'd you hear that from?" Kurenai asked.

"It was from Yoshino," Temari spoke up. "Shikamaru told her how Tobi was moving around a lot one day, and it happened to be a day me and Shikamaru were having an argument about something."

"That's not new," Kiba said.

Kurenai glared at him which shut Kiba up immediately and he looked down.

"Anyway," Temari continued. "Yoshino said that babies can sense when parents are aggravated and become aggravated themselves."

"We weren't fighting about anything," Kiba said.

"Neither were we," Shikamaru said, "but something's still agitating them."

They all became silent, trying to figure out what was making the kids like this.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

"Where are you going, Guy Sensei?" Lee asked.

Guy walked over to the couch where Lee was sitting and kissed the top of Lee's head. "I was going to train with Neji and Tenten." Guy saw Lee rubbing his stomach and knelt down in front of Lee and placed his hands on Lee's stomach. "Is everything ok?" he asked a bit worried.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Taro is just moving around a lot today," Lee said. He smiled at Guy's concern.

Guy raised Lee's shirt and lent down and placed a gentle kiss on Lee's stomach. "I can't wait to me you, my youthful little boy." He felt Taro kick a couple times, smiled, and placed another kiss on Lee's stomach before standing back up.

When he looked back at Lee's face, Guy saw Lee was red.  _'He still hasn't gotten use to my actions toward him yet.'_  He thought a little dejectedly, but didn't show a trace of it on his face.

"May I join you today?" Lee asked.

"Huh?" Guy asked not sure what Lee was talking about.

"To the training."

"Oh," Guy replied. "Lee, you know you can't train in the condition you're in."

"I know," Lee said. "I just want to watch. I… I don't want to be left alone again."

Guy's eyes went wide. "Lee, I'm so sorry. I…"

"It is ok, Guy Sensei. I understand why you have done it, but I would like to go and see Neji and Tenten again."

"Then let us go," Guy said with a smile.

Lee smiled too and tried to get up. Guy reached down and helped Lee up and they left for the training grounds.

Whey the got there, Neji and Tenten were already there waiting.

"Lee, what are you doing here?" Tenten asked.

"I wanted to come watch you guys train," Lee replied.

"In other words, you didn't want to be at the house alone again," Neji said.

Guy felt something hit him at Neji's words and stumbled a little.  _'Has everyone noticed how much I've neglected him but me?'_  He looked over at Lee who was now talking about something with Neji.  _'I'm so sorry, Lee. I'll never leave you alone again.'_

"Byakugan!"

Guy saw Neji looking at Lee's stomach with his byakugan and walked over to them.

"I don't see anything wrong," Neji said deactivating his byakugan, "but he is agitated for some reason."

"Maybe he wanted to get out of the house as much as Lee did?" Tenten suggested.

"Yes, that has to be it," Lee said.

"It makes sense that our child would want to get out and about. I know you and I have a hard time staying in one place for very long," Guy said.

"That's for sure," Tenten said.

"Alright!" Guys said as he clapped his hands and rubbed them. "Let's get this training going and show my son the power of youth!"

Neji and Tenten internally groaned, but started running as usual. They knew it was going to be a long day.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru and Temari had been at the Inuzuka's for a few hours now and Shikamaru decided it was time to leave. "We should probably get going, Temari," Shikamaru said. "Kiba and Kurenai probably want to try and lay the kids down again, and I wouldn't mind laying down myself."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Temari said. She handed Tamiko over to Kiba, got up, took the boy from Shikamaru, handed him to Kurenai, and went back over and helped her husband get out of the chair.

Kiba and Kurenai got up and started walking Temari and Shikamaru to the door, but stopped when Akamaru started whining and running around the room.

"Is he ok?" Temari asked.

Kiba handed the girl back to Temari and went over to Akamaru. "What is it, boy?" he asked as he knelt down and tried to calm the dog down.

Akamaru looked straight at Kiba and whined, but before Kiba could say anything, they all heard a loud crash outside.

"What the heck?!" Kiba yelled as he jumped up. He ran over to the window and threw open the curtain.

Everyone went wide eyed when they saw the house next door completely destroyed and in flames.

Temari rushed to the front door and almost ripped the door off its hinges trying to open it. What she saw made her go pale. The whole village was in flames.

"The village is under attack," Shikamaru said behind her.

"Kiba, go grab the babies' diaper bags and a couple blankets!" Kurenai said.

Kiba rushed out of the room. Akamaru following and came back with the double baby carrier that Kakashi and Sakura gave them. Akamaru had the two bags in his mouth.

"I thought this would help," Kiba said as he put the carrier on.

Kurenai handed Takeshi to Shikamaru and helped Kiba get the carrier secured. Once done, she took Takeshi back from Shikamaru and put him in one side of the carrier. She then took Tamiko form Temari and put her on the other side. Kiba now had both babies securely strapped to his chest.

As soon as everyone had their sandals on, they hurried out the door and toward the mountain side where the safety zone was.

Along the way, they could see and hear fighting and buildings falling and everyone was on high alert.

 _'_ _Dang it. The one day I decide not to bring my fan,'_  Temari thought as she watched another building fall. She stayed close to Shikamaru so that she could protect him if needed.

When they got about half way to the mountain side, Kurenai let out a scream. They all turned and saw her on the ground.

"Kurenai!" Kiba cried out and rushed to her side.

Kurenai was holding onto her leg and that's when everyone noticed the deep gash. She was bleeding out and everyone could tell she was in pain.

Temari ripped the bottom part of her shirt and grabbed one of the blankets from the diaper bag. She placed the blanket on Kurenai's leg and tied the cloth around it to make a quick bandage.

"Kiba, get the kids out of here," Kurenai said as she watched Temari wrap up her leg.

"No way! I'm not leaving you!" Kiba said.

"You can't carry me and the kids," Kurenai said. "And Temari has to help Shikamaru. You need to protect our children."

Kiba saw tears roll down her cheeks. He reached over and whipped them away. "I'm not leaving you," he said.

Akamaru came up and nudged Kiba's arm.

Kiba looked over at Akamaru, who had dropped the bags. "That's it!" Kiba suddenly said. He turned back to Kurenai. "Akamaru can take the kids and I'll take you."

"Well, whatever you're going to do, you need to do it fast," Shikamaru said looking at something to the side. "We're about to have company."

Kiba took the twins off his chest and handed them over to Akamaru, who took the top of the carrier in his mouth.

"Here," Temari said. She grabbed another blanket from the diaper bag and fixed it in between the twins. "Now they won't hurt each other as Akamaru carries them."

"You're going to make a great mother, Temari," Kurenai said with a smile.

Temari blushed. "We'll see."

Akamaru moved back a few steps and Kiba got up. He ripped a piece of his shirt, picked up the diaper bags, and tied them onto Akamaru's back. "Is that too much for you, boy?"

Akamaru shook his head the best he could without hurting the twins.

"Ok, then get going," Kiba said.

Akamaru turned and ran for the mountain side.

"We won't be too far behind," Kiba told Kurenai when he saw her worried face. He picked her up and got her settled in his arms.

"You've gotten stronger," Kurenai said with a smile.

"What would a man be if he can't pick up his own wife," Kiba replied with a smile. He then turned to Shikamaru and Temari. "Will you two be alright by yourselves?"

"We'll be fine. Just go," Temari said.

Kiba ran off and Temari went back over to Shikamaru. "Let's go, " she said.

Shikamaru nodded and they left.

After running for a while, Shikamaru had to stop because it was getting hard fro him to breath.

"What are you doing?" Temari yelled when she noticed he stopped.

Shikamaru was panting. "Sorry… I just… need to catch… my breath."

"Well catch it quicker," she said. "This is no place to rest."

"I know," Shikamaru said and looked up. He saw Asuma running toward them.  _'Well that will help,'_  he thought with a smile.

"Shikamaru! Temari! Look out!" Asuma yelled in horror.

Shikamaru and Temari turned and looked up and saw the building they were standing next to was already falling.

Shikamaru couldn't move. He stared in wide eyed horror as the building got closer to them. The next thing he knew, something had grabbed him and was pulling him away. He lost his footing and was falling backwards.

Time seemed to have slowed to an agonizing speed as Shikamaru realized that it was Temari that had grabbed him and flung him to a safer distance. He stared at her as the building was mere inches from her head, gazing into her scared eyes. He watched her close her eyes and saw tears streaming down her cheeks, and he barely made out the words, "I love you" before she was bombarded with rubble.

He fell back into Asuma's arms as the broken building fell on top of each other, burying Temari.

"Temari!"

Asuma wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's chest, keeping Shikamaru from running toward the pile of rubble. He felt Shikamaru struggle in his hold, grabbing and clawing at his arms, trying to remove the obstacle that was keeping him from Temari.

"Asuma, let me go!" Shikamaru yelled. He had tears streaming down his face.

"I can't do that," Asuma said. "Temari would want me to get you to safety."

"No! We have to help her!" Shikamaru yelled still trying to break Asuma's hold.

"She's gone, Shika," Asuma said quietly.

Shikamaru froze. He felt numb. Asuma relax his grip and Shikamaru felt himself falling to the ground.

Asuma grabbed Shikamaru and gradually let Shikamaru go down to his knees. Once he knew Shikamaru was balanced on his knees and wouldn't fall, he went around to Shikamaru's front and knelt down.

He saw Shikamaru's blank face, his eyes hollow, and raised his hands and put them on both sides of Shikamaru's face. "I'm so sorry, Shika, but we need to get you to safety."

Shikamaru didn't move.

"Shikamaru!"

Asuma looked over Shikamaru's shoulder and saw Shikaku and a few other shinobi running toward them.

"Asuma, what happened?" Shikaku asked. Asuma moved over so that Shikaku could look at his son.

"Temari…" Asuma began and looked over to the pile of rubble. "She was buried under the rubble." Shikaku looked at Asuma in horror. "She pushed Shikamaru out of the way, but couldn't escape herself."

Shikaku looked back at his son and closed his eyes. "Asuma, take Shikamaru to the mountain side."

Asuma nodded and grabbed Shikamaru's arm, but before he had a chance to move him, Shikamaru grabbed Shikaku's arm.

"Dad."

That one word broke Shikaku's heart and he placed a hand on the side of Shikamaru's face. "We'll try to get her out, but I can't promise you anything."

The only response he got was more tears running down Shikamaru's face.

"Asuma, go. Please," Shikaku said.

Asuma nodded again and helped Shikamaru get to his feet. He swept Shikamaru up bridle style and headed out.

NNNNNNNNNN

In the training ground of Team Guy, Neji, Tenten, and Guy were all facing enemies of their own. Guy was sticking close to Lee to keep him safe, but one of the shinobi managed to separate him and Lee. Guy was grateful when Neji jumped to Lee's aid. He could now focus on taking these guys down so he could get Lee and his unborn child to safety.

Tenten managed to get another enemy down, but saw several more coming toward her. "Where are they all coming from?" she asked herself as she grabbed two more scrolls. She jumped up in the air, unrolled the scrolls so they were swirling around her, and hurled several different weapons at the enemy. "Twin Rising Dragons!"

The enemy went down easily and she dropped back down to the ground, but before she had a chance to catch her breath, another wave of enemy came into the clearing. "There's just no end to them." She ran toward them after summoning a pair of twin katana.

Neji blocked another punch from an enemy and thrust his palm out. "Gentle fist." The guy went flying and fell to the ground unconscious. He jumped forward when he saw someone trying to stab in in the back. He twisted his body around and managed to block the second attack coming at him, but he also noticed that he let an enemy get to Lee, who was now expertly blocking punches from his enemy.  _'I'm sorry, Lee.'_  He had to return his attention to the enemy in front of him when he felt pain on his arm.

Guy heard Lee cry out and looked over to see Lee blocking several attacks from an enemy. "Lee!" He punched the enemy in front of him as hard as he could and the enemy went flying. Guy didn't wait to see if the enemy was down for the count, as soon as the hit connected, Guy turned and started running toward Lee.

Not even two steps and Guy had to back pedal to avoid getting his head chopped off. He glared at the enemy and dropped down into a sweeping round house kick. Once the enemy was on the ground, Guy jumped back up and slammed his heel into the back of the enemy's head, hearing a loud crunch.

When he looked back up to check on Lee, his eyes went wide. Lee was blocking more punches from the same enemy, but now there was an enemy coming toward Lee with a sword. "Lee!" Guy cried out and ran over to him.

Lee turned his head and saw Guy running toward him. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground on his back with Guy over top of him. "Guy Sensei…"

Guy cried out and his face contorted in pain. Lee felt something wet hit his chest and when he looked down, he saw a sword sticking out of Guy's chest. Lee's eyes widened in horror and he looked back up at Guy's face when he heard Guy scream again.

Guy's chest was on fire. He felt the two swords make their way through his body.  _'I have to protect Lee.'_  He straightened his arms with more determination and looked down at Lee's horrified face. Guy tried to give him his best smile.

_"_ _Hey, he's down. Let's help them keep him down."_

Two more swords were plunged into Guy's back and through his chest and stomach.

_"_ _Hey, let me in. I want to help too."_

Another sword went through his back and into his abdomen.

_"_ _Ha, an easy kill. Die Leaf scum!"_

Two kunai buried in his back, one puncturing his lung.

Guy closed his eyes. He was in so much pain. He was having trouble breathing and his vision was swimming.

"Guy Sensei."

Guy opened his eyes and looked into Lee's eyes. Tears were streaming down Lee's face. "Lee."

The noise around him quieted to a dull roar and the only thing he could see now was Lee. "I'm so sorry, Lee. I… I won't be able to help you with Taro."

"No, do not say that. We will…"

"Lee, please." Lee closed his mouth and the tears flowed even more now. "They've hit major arteries, punctured one of my lungs, and I'm losing too much blood. I know I won't make it, so please, listen." Lee nodded slowly. Guy coughed and blood splattered across Lee's chest. He then looked back at Lee. "I love you, Lee. I love our child. I regret that I won't be able to help you raise him or train him to be the great shinobi I know he will become, but I want you to stay strong." Tears fell onto Lee's face. "Stay strong not only for me, but for our son. He'll need you, Lee, and I know you can do this. Find someone that can help you. Someone that will love you as much as I do. Someone who will love our son as their own." His vision started going black. "I love you so much and I'll always be watching over you."

"I love you too, Guy Sensei," Lee said quietly.

Guy smiled then everything went black.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Sakura placed a hand on her stomach as she walked toward another group arriving. "Please, find a spot and have a seat. We hope to have this situation cleared up as soon as possible." She watched them nod and go over to another group they apparently knew.

"Hey, where'd you come from?"

Sakura turned and saw one of the shinobi helping with the evacuation talking to a big white dog with something in its mouth. "Akamaru?"

The dog turned its head and walked over to Sakura.

Sakura's eyes went wide when she realized it was Takeshi and Tamiko in his mouth. "You," she pointed at the shinobi, "get those babies out of his mouth and get them to someone who can take care of them."

"Yes, ma'am," the shinobi said and quickly collected the twins and went off to find a woman to take care of them. Akamaru stayed right with them.

"If they're here, where's…" Sakura started, but saw Kiba carrying Kurenai to the front entrance.

"Sakura, Kurenai's hurt. I'm gonna go back out and help fight. Can you take care of her and the twins?"

"Yeah. The kids are over there," Sakura said and lead them over to where the twins were.

Kiba placed Kurenai on the ground. Before he fully stood up, Kurenai grabbed his shirt and smashed their lips together. "Be careful out there."

Kiba blushed a bit. "I will. Come on, Akamaru," he said as he ran back to the entrance.

Sakura turned back to Kurenai once Kiba was out of sight. "So, what happened?" she asked as she carefully got down on the ground next to Kurenai's leg.

"Shikamaru and Temari were visiting when we heard a crash outside. When we saw what was going on, we all started heading to this place, but I got hit by something and it left a deep gash on my leg," Kurenai said.

Sakura gasped when she pulled back the blood stained blanket. "That's definitely a bad cut," Sakura said and focused her chakra. Her hand glowed a soft green and the wound started to close a little before she stopped. She turned to someone nearby who was watching her. "Can you go find me something to clean and wrap this wound, please?"

The woman nodded and ran off.

"You have beautiful children, Kurenai," a woman next to Kurenai said.

Kurenai realized that the woman next to her had both Takeshi and Tamiko in her arms and looked up at the woman's face. She recognized the woman as the clerk from one of her favorite snack shops. She smiled. "Thanks Sanako."

Kurenai took Takeshi from Sanako. "I can help you take care of them here while Kiba's out fighting," Sanako said as she repositioned Tamiko in her arms.

"I would appreciate that. Thank you," Kurenai said.

"Here you go, ma'am."

Kurenai and Sakura both looked up and saw the woman had returned with a bottle and some bandages. "Thank you," Sakura said as she took the bottle and bandages. She turned back to Kurenai's leg, sat the bandages to the side, opened the bottle, and poured it over the wound.

Kurenai let out a hiss.

"Sorry," Sakura said looking up at Kurenai.

Kurenai shook her head. "It's ok. It has to be done."

Sakura nodded and went back to cleaning and tending to the wound.

"There," Sakura said after she secured the bandage. "That should be good. Just keep an eye on it and if it starts hurting or gets red, come to the hospital, ok?"

Kurenai nodded. "Thank you."

Sakura smiled and turned around when she sensed someone coming up behind her.

Kurenai's eyes went wide as she watched Asuma walk past Sakura and sat Shikamaru on the ground next to her. "Asuma? What are you doing here? Where's Temari?"

Asuma looked down sadly and she saw Shikamaru turn his head away from them. "She… A building collapsed next to them. She pushed Shikamaru out of the way, but…"

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

Kurenai looked back over at Shikamaru who had tears going down his cheeks.

They all remained quiet until Asuma spoke up. "Please take care of him," he said and turned to leave.

"Shikamaru, I'm so sorry," Sakura said, but they got nothing from him, so they left him alone.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

"Captain Shikaku, we can't stay here much longer," a young male shinobi said.

Shikaku stood there, arms crossed over his chest, as he watched three shinobi digging in the rubble. "We don't leave until we find Temari's body."

Before the shinobi could protest, one of the three digging shinobi called over to them. "We found her."

Shikaku quickly made his way over to them and saw Temari's face, cut and bloodied. He reached down to her neck and felt for a pulse. His face dropped when he didn't feel anything and closed his eyes, but they shot open again when he felt a faint throb. "Get her out of there!"

The four shinobi scrambled to get the rest of the rubble off Temari's body. The more they uncovered the more Shikaku hoped he wasn't just imagining the pulse. Her body was bloody all over and he could she one of her legs bent at the knee in the wrong direction when the shinobi removed a large piece of rubble off of it. He could also see redish white pieces sticking out of a couple places along with deep gashes all over her body.  _'Please, let her be alive.'_

They finally got the rubble off and Shikaku carefully picked her up, careful not to jostle anything. He almost lost his stomach when he stood up and felt as if every bone in Temari's body was shattered, but kept it down and raced off toward the hospital. He couldn't feel or hear her breathing and the warmth he should've felt wasn't there. He wasn't so sure anymore if he felt anything after all, but prayed that she could still be saved.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

The training ground was silent. Neji and Tenten had finally managed to take out the rest of the enemy and now they watched as Lee cried over Guy's body.

They removed all the weapons that had penetrated Guy's body and laid him on his back next to Lee. Tenten had tears running down her cheeks and Neji had his eyes closed and his fists clenched, refusing to let the tears escape. He knew he had to be strong for both Lee and Tenten, but was angry at himself for letting this happen.

Tenten placed a hand on Neji's arm which made him look at her. "It's still not safe. We should get Lee to the mountain side." She looked over at Guy's body. "It's what Sensei would've wanted us to do."

Neji nodded and walked over to Lee. He put a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Come on, Lee, we need to go."

Lee wipped his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt and looked up at Neji. "Yes, you are right."

Neji helped Lee get off the ground and the three left the area. They remained silent along the way and Neji kept an eye on Lee to make sure he was doing ok.

After walking a few more minutes, Lee stopped and doubled over, letting out a cry.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Neji asked.

"I do not know," Lee said. "The lower part of my stomach hurts and I feel as if something is pushing on my… uh… lower half."

"Don't tell me you in labor," Tenten said.

Neji activated his byakugan and saw the child trying to go where a vaginal passage would be if Lee was a girl. "He is. The fighting earlier must have triggered an early labor."

"What're we supposed to do?" Tenten asked.

Lee cried out in pain again and fell to his knees.

"We can't move him like this," Neji said.

"This does not feel pleasant," Lee said.

Tenten ignored him. "So, what, we deliver the baby ourselves?"

"It seems we have no choice," Neji said.

Tenten and Neji helped Lee lay on his back and Neji knelt over him.

"How are you going to get the baby out?" Lee asked.

"I'll have to use my chakra to cut you open and take the baby out that way. "Neji said.

"So you're preforming a C-section on him?" Tenten said.

"Yes," Neji said. He activated his byakugan again, raised his hand and focused his chakra to the tips of his fingers, and saw the sharp, blade-like shape it took. Doing this was simple for him since he mastered the gentle fist. "Alright, I'm going to begin. Lee, this will hurt."

Lee nodded and braced himself.

Neji brought his hand down and made a cut in Lee's stomach about five inches. He wasn't sure how long he was supposed to cut, but thought that would be enough to get the baby out.

As Neji cut deep into Lee's stomach, fluid gushed out and covered his hand. Neji went a little green and pulled his hand away quickly after he finished the cut.

"Neji? You ok?" Tenten asked when she saw Neji's greenish face.

"I… can't do this," Neji replied and jumped up and ran to the side. He emptied his stomach of everything.

Tenten just stared at him surprised. "Who knew Neji was that squeamish?" she asked no one in particular.

Lee let out another cry and Tenten quickly dropped down and took Neji's place.

"Ok, sorry about this, Lee," Tenten said and tuck her hands into the cut. She made a face at how slimy it was and just the fact that she was digging around inside of Lee, but finally found what she thought was the sac holding the baby. It was already open from the cut Neji made, so she reached further in and found the baby. She pulled the baby carefully out so she didn't hurt Lee or the child. "I got him."

"Why is he not crying?" Lee asked a bit worried.

Tenten put the baby over her arm and gave his butt a quick smack, and the baby started screaming. "Sometimes that happens and you need to shock them into crying," she said.

Tenten passed the baby to Lee, who sat up the best he could and cradled the small crying child in his arms. The child had a small patch of hair at the center of his head and eyebrows that were slightly bigger than his own or Guy's. He couldn't tell for sure what the child's eyes looked like since they were squeezed tight, but one thought went through his mind. "He's perfect," Lee said out loud.

"Yeah, he's pretty cute," Tenten said. "Here, wrap him in this." She handed Lee a small green blanket with the leaf village symbol on it. "I was going to give it to you after he was born anyway. There's a liner on one side so the blood and slimy stuff shouldn't ruin it."

"Thank you," Lee said and wrapped Taro in the blanket.

Tenten looked back down and saw the umbilical cord coming out of Lee's stomach. "I need to get the after birth out and then I'll sew you up. I suggest wrapping that up with Taro until we get you two to the hospital."

Lee nodded and felt Tenten reach inside of him again and pull something out. They got Taro and the after birth wrapped up in the blanket, and Tenten was now working on sewing up the cut.

Neji finally walked back over to them, still a little green, and looked down at Taro who was now sleeping soundly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," he said.

"That's ok," Tenten said. "You can carry him."

Neji nodded and helped Lee to his feet. He picked Lee up bridle style and they all headed for the hospital.


	20. Aftermath

The room was loud with the conversational murmurings of people who were just trying to distract themselves from the present situation outside. For a massive area, it sure seemed small to Shikamaru. He felt cramped even though there was no one around him. His head throbbed. The sounds felt a thousand times louder, but he knew it wasn't actually that loud.

Shikamaru put his hand on his face, covering one eye, and squeezed his head as if to keep it from exploding. He heard laughter to the side and squeezed his eyes shut even more.  _'How can they laugh! How can they be so cheerful when people are dying just outside these wall?'_  A tear slipped down his cheek.

"Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru opened his eyes and saw Kurenai staring at him. He felt tired. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the wall. He didn't want to hear her sympathies, to hear her say how sorry she was. All the sorrys in the world couldn't bring her back, so what was the point.

"Shikamaru?" Kurenai said again.

Shikamaru opened his eyes halfway and turned to look at her. "What?" he asked barely above a whisper.

Before she could say a word, Sakura walked up to them. "I just heard that the enemy is retreating. The fight is over," she said.

"That's great," Kurenai said happily.

Shikamaru just closed he eyes again.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "We'll wait here until someone says it's safe to come out though."

"They still have to put out all the fires?" Sanako asked. "I saw a lot of flames when we were filing in here."

"Yea," Sakura said. "They also want to make sure the buildings are secure."

Shikamaru tensed.

"Apparently there were a lot of buildings collapsing out there," Sakura continued, not realizing how it was affecting Shikamaru.

Shikamaru squeezed his fists tighter, trying to keep the tears inside, but failing.

"Sakura," Kurenai said.

"Yeah?" Sakura asked. Kurenai tilted her head toward Shikamaru and Sakura's eyes went wide. "Oh, Shikamaru, I'm so sorry. I…"

"Just forget it," Shikamaru said as she attempted to stand up. Sakura walked forward and helped him to his feet, but Shikamaru shoved her away as soon as he was steady.

He walked away from them and toward the entrance, ignoring their calls for him to come back. He stopped at the entrance, leaned his head on the wall, and stared at the village below. He scanned the village for the place Temari's body was buried and just stared. He continued to stare at that spot until a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Shikaku was making his way up the mountain side, along with a few others, and when he saw Shikamaru looking at him, changed his direction. The others continued in through the entrance to find their loved ones and friends.

"Shikamaru…"

"Did you find her?" Shikamaru cut him off.

Shikamaru looked at him sadly. "Yes."

The tears flowed down Shikamaru's face again and he closed his eyes. "It should've been me. I should've been the one to protect her." He knuckles were turning white because of how tight he was clenching his fists.

Shikaku placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "I got her to the hospital…" Shikaku began. Shikamaru looked at him hopeful. "…but she was in bad shape. She wasn't moving or breathing, and Lady Tsunade didn't sound too confident that she could do anything."

Shikamaru looked away from Shikaku and toward the hospital. He felt tired. So very tired. And numb.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Lee stood in the doorway and just stared at his son in the glass box. He slowly walked over to it and stared down at Taro. He hadn't seen Taro since Shizune whisked him away three hours ago. After that he hadn't heard anything about Taro.

He looked around the room and saw a chair in the corner. He went over, grabbed it, and placed it next to the box his son was in. He sat down and moved his face closer to the box. It made him sad to see the wires and tubes hooked up to his son, and wondered why it was even necessary to do that to him, but no one was around to ask.

_'_ _Is it because he was born early? I remember Kiba saying something about his kids looking like this because they were born too early.'_

He reached into the box and pulled the blanket up closer to Taro's chin. He smiled. He was glad they let Taro keep the blanket Tenten gave him.

"Lee, what are you doing in here?"

Lee turned around and saw Shizune walking towards him. "I wanted to see Taro."

"Lee, why didn't you ask someone to bring you here? Your body is still extremely weak from the birth," Shizune said stopping beside him.

"I did not wish to bother them. They were busy taking care of the injured that were coming in. I figured they could use my room more than I could. I…"

"Stop right there," Shizune interrupted him. Lee stared at her a bit shocked. "You just had your baby, Lee. It usually take a woman a couple days to just feel like moving around again, and with you being male, we need to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't have any complications."

"Complications?" Lee asked not quite understanding.

"Yes. We have no idea how having a baby will affect your body. We need to continue observing you to make sure there are no problems."

"But the nurse that checked me over and took care of my wound said that I was fine. There was no trace of the womb and she said that if she hadn't seen me the way I was before she never would've believed I was pregnant."

"Yeah, I saw the results of her exam on you, but we still need to be cautious. Plus, that serum is still running through your veins."

"Can you not just give me the antidote that you gave to Asuma and Guy Sensei?"

"Lady Tsunade wants to check you over before we do," she explained.

"Then why has she not been to see me?"

"She's with Temari."

Lee could tell something was wrong by the way she said that. "What has happened?"

"Temari was crushed under a falling building while trying to get to the mountain side."

"What? Is Shikamaru ok?" Lee asked.

"I think so. The way Shikaku explained it, Temari pushed Shikamaru out of the way. He said Asuma was there too and that Asuma took Shikamaru to the mountain side. So I would say he is."

Lee looked down sadly. "I see."

Shizune looked around and saw a wheelchair in the corner of the room. She went over and brought it back to Lee. "Come on. Let's get you back to your room so you can rest."

"But," Lee said and looked over at Taro, "I wish to stay with Taro."

"I understand, but right now I need to get back to the other patients and I don't need to be worrying about you. I promise, once thing calm down, I'll bring you back to visit him."

Lee reached down and ran his finger over Taro's cheek, which caused Taro to stir a bit. "Very well."

"Thank you," Shizune said.

Lee sat down in the wheelchair and watched Taro until Shizune turned him around.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she stepped out of the room. She was surprised when she opened her eyes and saw Shikaku and Shikamaru coming towards her. "What are you two doing here?"

"How's Temari?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade looked at him sadly. "Not good, I'm afraid. She's alive, but on life support. Both of her lungs were punctured by her ribs, nearly every bone in her body was broken, and there was a major contusion in her brain from the debris hitting her. Her pupils are unresponsive and I can't get a single reaction from her reflexes. Because of the head injury she's in a coma, and honestly, I'm not sure if she'll wake up."

Shikamaru squeezed both his eyes and his fists at her words. "So you're pretty much saying she's already dead."

Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder. "She was pretty much dead from the time she arrived. It's lucky her head wasn't completely crushed by the rubble. If that had happened, there's nothing we could've done."

Shikamaru looked at the room door. "Can I go in?"

"Sure," Tsunade said. "But first, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Shikamaru said and walked away from her. He went in the room and left Shikaku and Tsunade alone in the hall.

"Is there any chance she'll survive this?" Shikaku asked as they both continued to stare at the door.

"I don't know," she said and looked at him. "The trauma to her brain worries me. If she wakes up at all, she could have permanent brain damage, or worse."

"What could be worse than that?" Shikaku asked.

"She could be in a vegetative state."

"What?"

"She may seem like she woke up, but she could still be unconscious. It's a bit difficult to explain, but she could open her eyes, move, respond to certain things, but in reality she still isn't conscious."

"What are the chance of that?"

"Right now, it's pretty likely IF she wakes up."

"She's not brain dead is she?"

"No, there are still electrical currents flowing through her brain, but they are low."

"So that's why you have her on life support," Shikaku stated more than asked.

'Yes. Her brain has essentially shut down to repair itself. This is a difficult situation because her brain may not be able to repair itself and will just stop functioning entirely. Until she wakes up, it's touch and go."

"I see," Shikaku said and looked back toward the door.

"I have other patients to look in on, but I'll be back later to check on her progress."

Shikaku just nodded and walked into Temari's room.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Sakura finally made it back to her and Kakashi's house. It looked like it didn't get any damage at all in the attack. She smiled and started to head inside, but was stopped when she heard her name. She turned around and saw Kakashi and Naruto heading toward her. She ran, as best she could being pregnant, and jumped into Kakashi's arms, wrapping her arms around him and smashing their lips together.

Naruto looked away awkwardly. "I'm ok too, ya know."

Sakura broke off the kiss, her cheeks slightly pink, and looked over to Naruto. "Sorry, Naruto. I'm glad you're both ok," she said and hugged Naruto. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to either of you."

"I'm sure your parents would've been there for you," Kakashi said.

"Yeah, but it's not the same as you," she told Kakashi with a smile.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned around and the three could see Sakura's parents coming towards them.

"Uh, I'm gonna go find Hinata and make sure she's ok," Naruto said and jumped off before either one could respond.

When her parents reached Sakura and Kakashi, Mebuki smothered Sakura in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're ok, Sakura."

"Yeah, your mother and I were really worried," Kizashi said.

"Can't breathe," Sakura said pushing on her mother's stomach.

"Sorry, dear," Mebuki said letting go of Sakura.

"And you shouldn't have been too worried. I had Kakashi with me after all. As soon as he sensed the danger, he took me straight to the mountain side," Sakura said.

"Good," Mebuki said and walked up to Kakashi. "I'm glad you're ok too."

Kakashi smiled at her and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, Mrs. Haruno."

"So are you guys heading back to your house?" Sakura asked.

"We've already been there," Kizashi said.

"There was nothing left to go back to," Mebuki said sadly.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Apparently there was a big battle near our house and it was hit and destroyed in the crossfire," Kizashi explained.

"So what are you two going to do?" Kakashi asked.

"We'll stay with you two, naturally," Mebuki said with a confident, no-questions-asked voice.

Kakashi paled a bit. "R-really?"

"Mom, you can't just barge in on us like that," Sakura said.

"It's only until they can find us someplace else to live," Kizashi said. "Don't worry. It'll be as if we're not even there," he said and laughed.

"Great," Kakashi said. He could tell that this wasn't going to end well.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Kiba flopped down on the couch next to Kurenai. "Man, I'm beat."

"Well, you did carry me all the way back here. I could've walked you know," Kurenai said.

"You're hurt."

"Yeah, but Sakura healed the wound, so I'm fine now." She leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. "But I appreciate your concern."

Kiba smiled and laid his head on the back of the couch. "Hopefully things will slow down now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well the kids were only that way 'cause of the attack, right?" Kiba said looking back at her.

"Kiba, they're new borns. They were only agitated this morning before the attack. The other days were because they needed the attention."

"So they're still going to keep us up all night?" Kiba asked a bit panicked.

Kurenai chuckled. "Afraid so."

"Uhhhh, kill me now," Kiba said laying his head back again and covering his face with his hands.

Kurenai laughed at him and looked around. "You know, we're really lucky."

"Huh?" Kiba asked looking at her again.

"The whole village was pretty much destroyed, but our house was only burned on the side a bit. It could've been much worse."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed. He looked down at her leg. "You could've died."

"But your quick thinking saved all four of us," Kurenai said.

Akamaru barked.

"Sorry, Akamaru. All five of us."

Akamaru wagged his tail and laid back down.

"It was really Akamaru's idea," Kiba said looking at Akamaru. "Thanks, boy."

Akamaru barked again.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Lee laid in bed just staring up at the ceiling. Now that he was alone again, his mind was going back to Guy's death. Tears escaped his eyes at the thought of Guy being gone. He wasn't sure how he was going to raise Taro without Guy. He remembered Guy told him to find someone that would love him and Taro, but he had never really been very good in the love department before.

He was grateful when the door of the room opened and Neji and Tenten walked in.

"Hey, Lee. How are you?" Tenten asked.

"I am ok. Is the fighting over?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, the enemy retreated a little while ago, and now all that's left is the clean-up," Neji said.

"That is good," Lee said and lowered his head.

The room went silent.

Tenten looked around the room for anything to distract her and noticed something. "Hey, where's Taro?"

Lee looked up at her. "He is in an incubator in the nursery."

"Is it because he was born early?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, but he looks fine to me," Lee said.

"You've seen him then?" Tenten asked.

"For a little bit," Lee said. "I kind of snuck off to see him without anyone knowing. Shizune found me and yelled at me for it."

"I didn't yell." The three turned and saw Shizune and Tsunade walking in the room. "I was upset, but I didn't yell."

"How are you feeling, Lee," Tsunade said to change the subject.

"Fine. When can I see Taro again?" Lee asked.

"In a little bit. I'll over there to check him out once I'm finished here. Shizune told me that he is remarkably healthy for a child born a month early."

"Yeah, it's as if he was born right on time," Shizune said.

"So he will not have to have all those wires and tubes on him anymore?" Lee asked.

"Those are only precautions, but if what Shizune said is true, then no, he won't," Tsunade said.

Lee smiled. "I am glad to hear that."

"I have been told that Guy's body has been retrieved from the training ground and is in the morgue now," Tsunade said.

Lee, Neji, and Tenten looked down sadly. "It won't be the same without him around," Tenten said.

"Yeah," Neji agreed.

"Guy Sensei," Lee said and started crying again.

Tenten went over and sat down on Lee's bed and tried to comfort him the best she could.

"We'll discuss funeral plans later," Tsunade said. "For now, let's get you checked out.

Lee wiped away his tears and nodded.

Tenten got up and back over to where Neji was and just watched as Tsunade checked Lee over. She saw Tsunade check Lee's stomach, the cut, and his lower half then turned back to Shizune.

She said something to Shizune that neither Lee, Tenten, nor Neji heard, but thought nothing of it when Tsunade turned back to Lee with a smile.

"Well, as far as I can tell you're back to normal," Tsunade said.

"Except for the fact that the serum is still in his veins," Shizune pointed out.

"Yes, we'll do a couple more tests on that, and if we don't find anything, we'll give you the antidote and things should be fine," Tsunade said.

"I am glad to hear that," Lee said with a small smile. "Will I be able to see Taro when you are finished examining him?"

"If he's ok, I'll have Shizune bring him to you," Tsunade said. "So just stay here and rest up until then, ok?" she said as she walked toward the door, Shizune close behind.

"Yes, ma'am!" Lee said loudly and saluted.

After about ten minutes, Shizune returned with Taro in her arms and told them that he was healthy and strong enough to go home when Lee did.


	21. Depression Hits

It had been three days since the attack on the village. Reconstruction of the village was still a work in progress, and no one wanted the buildings and houses repaired more than Kakashi did.

"Kakashi! How many times do I have to tell you to pick up after yourself!"

Kakashi quickly ran into his bedroom and closed the door. He leaned back on it and sighed in relief. "Finally."

"That won't save you, you know," Sakura said with a smirk.

"Huh?" Kakashi asked confused.

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi jumped away from the door. "What the…"

Sakura chuckled. "Mom can be a bit pushy."

"Yeah, so I noticed," Kakashi said.

"Mom, whatever Kakashi did, he's sorry and will fix it in a moment," Sakura yelled through the door.

"Honestly. The man was alone…" Mebuki said but her voice drowned out as she walked away.

"Sakura, you know I'm more than happy to help your parents, but…"

"But you want them gone?"

"Well, yeah."

"I understand. Mom's starting to get to me too."

"How in the world did you survive?"

"Lots of self-control and…" Sakura said as she walked back over to the bed. She picked something off the bedside table and showed it to him with a smile. "…plenty of earplugs."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." He walked over and put his hands on her hips. "I'm really glad you didn't turn out like that."

"Yeah, me too." She looked around Kakashi at the door and sighed. "You better go back down and do whatever she was yelling at you for before she decides to come back and break down the door."

"She wouldn't… would she?"

Sakura nodded. "Oh yeah she will. I can't even count how many times she did that with my door."

Kakashi paled a bit. "Your mother's stronger than I thought."

"Yeah, but I'm sure it won't be too much longer before they get their own place again," Sakura said as she walked to the door.

"I hope so," Kakashi said. "Maybe Lady Tsunade will have a mission for me today."

Sakura opened the door and looked back to him. "And leave me with her? No way."

"Well, I can't go against the Hokage's orders," Kakashi said with a smile.

"You jerk," Sakura said then walked out of the room.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Asuma stood in front of Temari's hospital room. He felt bad that he hadn't been by to check up on them yet, but knew that Shikamaru would probably want some time alone. After all, he was the one that kept Shikamaru from trying to help Temari and drug him away from her.

He sighed, knocked on the door, and cracked the door to look in. "Shikamaru?"

He saw Shikamaru lift his head off the bed and turn in the chair he was sitting in. "Asuma?"

Asuma came the rest of the way in the room and closed the door. "Yeah. Sorry I haven't been by yet. I've been helping with the clean-up and…"

"It's fine," Shikamaru said and turned back to Temari.

Asuma frowned. "How's she doing?"

"She hasn't moved since they got her here. Lady Tsunade comes in and checks on her, and I can tell that she's not improving by the way Lady Tsunade sighs. She told me yesterday that if Temari doesn't wake up within the next week and a half, she probably won't."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't wake up," Shikamaru said.

He couldn't see Shikamaru's face, but he could tell that Shikamaru had started crying. He walked over to him and placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Hey, she's strong. I'm sure she'll pull through this."

Shikamaru looked up at Asuma, and sure enough, tear steaks were present on his face. "I know, but it's just hard." He turned back to Temari and took her hand.

Asuma didn't know what to say. His mind was kind of in a turmoil, but he also felt bad. Since he found out Temari was in the coma, he felt sorry for Shikamaru, but at the same time, he thought maybe this was fate saying that Shikamaru was supposed to be with him. He knew he could never say it like to Shikamaru, and now seeing him like this, he didn't even think he should be here.

"I should leave," Asuma said and started walking to the door.

"No." Asuma stopped and turned around and saw Shikamaru standing. "Please don't go," Shikamaru said as he walked toward Asuma. "I don't want to be alone anymore."

_'_ _Alone?'_

"Dad and Choji have been helping with the clean-up, Lady Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino are taking care of the other patients, and mom's helping some of the other women in the village with supplies for the people that lost their homes. Sure they come by every once in a while, but…"

"Alright, I get it. I'll stay," Asuma said.

Shikamaru gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Asuma… Umm, I have to use the bathroom. Can you stay with her?"

Asuma smiled. "Yeah."

"Thanks," Shikamaru said and walked over to the bathroom.

Asuma went over to the bed and looked down at Temari. "I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you wake up soon, for Shikamaru's sake. He needs you Temari. I'll never be enough for him. Even if it makes me happy, he could never be happy with me like he is with you. So please, wake up."

Asuma heard the toilet flush and stepped away from the bed. When Shikamaru came out, he walked back over to the chair and sat down. Asuma looked around the room and found another chair at the side of the room and went to grab it. He placed it next to Shikamaru and sat down.

"So how is Tobikuma?"

Shikamaru looked over at Asuma. "To be honest, really still. It's kind of worrying me a bit."

"Should I go get Lady Tsunade?" Asuma asked as he stood up.

"No, I think he's just finally calmed down. Either that or he's just as sad as I am about Temari," Shikamaru said sadly.

Asuma sat back down. "Well, Temari is his mother." Shikamaru looked shocked at that which made Asuma laugh. "Look, I'm not angry about it. Tobi will need a mother figure and I'm glad it's Temari."

Shikamaru smiled. "I'm happy to hear you say that. Since you two don't talk much, I figured you didn't really like Temari for taking me away from you."

"Shikamaru, I've never thought that."

"I just thought…"

Asuma looked Shikamaru straight in the eye. "Shikamaru, I only want you to be happy. If that means losing you to Temari, then so be it."

"Looks like you'll get your chance now," Shikamaru said sadly as he looked down at his lap.

"I really am sorry this has happened to her, and if she doesn't make it through this…" Asuma started, but couldn't finish it.

"Then I'll live with you and we'll raise this child," Shikamaru said looking toward the only window in the room.

"If that's not what you want, then I won't make you," Asuma said. "But if you would be ok with it, I promise, I would do everything I could to protect you and Tobi."

"Don't count on it."

Shikamaru and Asuma turned around and saw Shikaku standing in the doorway.

"Dad."

"She's not dead yet, so don't you dare start talking like she is," Shikaku said to Asuma sternly as he walked over to them. He grabbed the collar of Asuma's shirt and pulled him up so he was standing. "And I better not find out you had anything to do with this."

"Dad, stop!" Shikamaru yelled and grabbed Shikaku's wrist. "Asuma was running toward us when the building was collapsing. And why would he do anything like that in the first place."

Shikaku looked over to Shikamaru, his grip not wavering. "Because I overheard what he and Genma talked about the other night." He looked back at Asuma. "He said that he wished there was a way to get you back, but with Temari alive that would never happen."

Shikamaru looked at Asuma. "Is that true?"

"Shikamaru…" Asuma tried, but Shikaku stopped him.

"What are you even doing here? You aren't allowed to be near him," Shikaku said as he started dragging Asuma toward the door.

"I ripped up your stupid restraining order, Dad," Shikamaru said.

Shikaku stopped and turned toward his son. "What?"

"It's my decision on whether I want to be around Asuma or not. Temari's fine with it, so we destroyed the restraining order so that Asuma wouldn't actually get in trouble for being around me. In fact, it was Temari that actually ripped it up."

Shikaku let Asuma go. "So you got rid of the restraining order so he can have the chance to hurt you again?"

"No. I got rid of it because I wanted to be around my friend again. And like it or not, if something happens to Temari, Lady Tsunade would probably order me to marry Asuma." Shikaku and Asuma were both surprised at that statement. "She doesn't want bastard children in her village, which means that if I can no longer be with Temari, I will have to be with the father of the child."

Asuma looked down sadly.  _'Have to be? So he really wouldn't be happy with me.'_

"I will be speaking with Lady Tsunade about this," Shikaku said and walked out of the room.

Shikamaru sat down in the chair again, put his elbows on the side of Temari's bed, and buried his face in his hands. "Why is everything so messed up?"

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Lee was sitting on his bed, Taro laying in front of him sleeping. Lee had his shirt off and was staring down at his chest.  _'I do not understand. They are… bigger.'_

"Lee, are you reading to go?" Tenten asked as she and Neji walked in. "Uhhh… why do you have your shirt off?" she asked with a blush.

"Oh, hi Tenten, Neji," Lee said looking up at them, then looked back down and started poking himself.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked.

Lee looked up at them again. "They hurt a little and are bigger than I remember them being."

"What? Your chest?" Tenten asked then noticed Lee staring right at her chest. "Hey!" Tenten said covering her chest. "Stop staring at me like that."

"It's not like he can see anything," Neji said calmly.

"That doesn't give him any right to star at me," Tenten countered.

"They are small but the same."

"What did you say?" Tenten asked a vein popping out of her head.

"Uh, no, I did not mean yours," Lee said. He looked down again. "Mine."

"Lee, you don't have… Holy crap, he does," Tenten said and walked over to Lee.

Neji frowned and stared at Lee's chest. "I will go get Lady Tsunade," he said and left the room.

"Haven't you ever noticed it before?" Tenten asked sitting on the side of the bed, careful not to disturb Taro.

"No, and Guy Sensei never said anything either," Lee replied.

"Weird."

The door opened and Lady Tsunade, Shizune, and Neji walked in. "What's going on?" Tsunade asked.

"Lee's got breasts," Tenten said.

"Tenten, I would appreciate if you did not say it like that," Lee said, his face a big red.

"Sorry, Lee," Tenten said.

Tsunade and Shizune walked over to the bed, and Tenten picked Taro up and carried him over to where Neji was so that they didn't get in the way. Tsunade activated the chakra in her hand and started examining Lee's chest. "Well," she said and lowered her hands, "it looks like your mammary glands are actually active."

"His what?" Tenten asked?

"It's the glands in the breasts that produce milk when a woman has a child," Shizune said looking at Tenten. She looked back at Lee. "I guess since he had a child, his body decided that they should become active."

"So, what does that mean?" Lee asked.

"It means you can breastfeed your son if you want," Tsunade said.

"Oh," was all Lee said.

"It's actually better for the baby if you breastfeed them, but that's entirely up to you," Tsunade said.

"I will try it then," Lee said. "Am I ok to leave now?"

"Yeah, the discharge papers have already been filled out. You're free to go," Tsunade said as she and Shizune headed for the door.

"Ma'am?" Lee asked as he stood up from the bed.

"Hmm?" Tsunade said as she stood in the doorway.

"How is Temari?" Lee asked.

"Not very good. We're still not getting any indication that her condition is improving," Tsunade said.

"I think I will go see her before I leave," Lee said.

"I'm sure Shikamaru would appreciate the company," Tsunade said then walked out.

"I heard she wasn't doing so well," Tenten said as she walked over and handed Taro back to Lee.

Lee carefully took Taro into his arms and headed to the door. He found the room Temari was in and walked in.

Shikamaru and Asuma turned to see who came in the room and Shikamaru went wide eyed. "Lee, you had your kid?"

"Yes," Lee said as he, Tenten, and Neji walked over to them. "I had him the day the village was attacked. The day that Guy Sensei was killed trying to protect me and Taro."

"I'm so sorry," Shikamaru said and looked down at Taro. "He looks like a perfect combination of both of you."

"Yeah, he does, although I think I has Guy's nose," Asuma agreed.

"But it is Taro's nose," Lee said confused.

"Lee, what he meant was that Taro's nose and Guy's nose look the same," Tenten explained.

"Oh," Lee said and looked at Shikamaru's chest. "His are not as big."

"What?" Shikamaru asked completely confused.

"Lee, you really need to stop doing that," Tenten said.

"Lady Tsunade said that Lee's mammary glands are active in his body," Neji explained. "He only just noticed his own… chest getting bigger."

"Wait, are you saying he's going to grow…"

"Boobies!" Tenten said happily.

Shikamaru paled. "What?"

"Ah, don't worry 'bout it. I'm sure they won't get as big as any woman's. I mean, Lee's are pretty small. We didn't even notice until he said something," Tenten said.

"What a drag," Shikamaru said and sat down in the chair again.

"After a while a woman stops producing milk, so maybe when you two get to that point they'll go back to normal," Tenten suggested.

"Let's hope so," Asuma said. He then looked at Lee. "Were you discharged?"

"Yes. I am going home," Lee replied.

"Will you be ok in Guy's house alone?" Shikamaru asked.

Lee looked down sadly. "I do not know where else to go."

"You could always stay with Neji," Asuma said.

"That would not be a good idea," Neji said.

"Why not?" Tenten asked. "It's a good idea."

"I do not believe Lord Hiashi would approve," Neji replied crossing his arms.

"I will be ok," Lee said. Everyone looked at him. "I will have Taro with me."

"Lee," Tenten said.

"I wish Temari a speedy recovery Shikamaru," Lee said then headed to the door.

"Thanks. Good luck with Taro," Shikamaru replied.

Lee smiled and walked out the door. Tenten and Neji looked at each other, nodded their goodbyes to Asuma and Shikamaru, and followed Lee out.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Asuma left the hospital when it got dark and started heading home, but when he passed the tavern, he decided to go in and have a drink instead. He went over to the bar, ordered a couple shots, and sat down on one of the stools. He stared at the counter until the bartender brought his shots. "Thanks."

He stared at the two small glasses filled with the cloudy brown liquid.

**_"_ ** **_Why is everything so messed up?"_ **

He couldn't get those words out of his head.

He grabbed one of the glasses, tipped his head back, and downed the drink in one gulp. He sat the glass back on the counter.

**_"_ ** **_I will have to be with the father of this child."_ **

He shook his head, grabbed the second glass, and did the same as the first one, then slammed it on the counter and yelled to the bartender to bring him a couple more.

"Long day?"

Asuma turned and saw Kakashi standing behind him. "Kakashi."

The bartender sat the glasses down in front of Asuma and looked to Kakashi. "I'll have a bloody mary," Kakashi said as he sat down on the barstool next to Asuma.

The bartender nodded and walked away.

"What're you doing here?" Asuma asked.

"Getting away from Sakura's mom," Kakashi said honestly.

"Won't Sakura get mad?"

"She the one that told me to. I was getting a little moody."

"Isn't she the one that's supposed to be moody," Asuma joked.

"Yeah, but if you knew her parents, you'd understand," Kakashi said. "What about you?"

"I've been with Shikamaru most of the day."

When Asuma saw the confused look ok Kakashi's face, he explained how Shikamaru was acting, what Shikaku said, the thoughts that have been running through his head, and finally what happened after Lee told Shikamaru about Guy.

"Yeah, I heard about Guy," Kakashi said sadly. "It won't be the same around here anymore."

The bartender set the drink in front of Kakashi. "Sorry for your wait." Kakashi just nodded and turned his attention back to Asuma.

"Yeah," Asuma agreed.

"So you and Shikamaru aren't doing so well anymore?"

"It's not that," Asuma said. "I just… I want to be there for him, but with the thoughts about being with him if Temari dies making me happy and kind of wishing for it, I feel like I'm betraying him."

"You can't control your feelings, Asuma," Kakashi asked as he took a drink.

"I know," Asuma said then suddenly looked around in a panic.

"What?" Kakashi asked tensing up and trying to sense any danger.

Asuma calmed down and looked back at the counter. "The last time I talked about this, Shikaku overheard me. He told Shikamaru what I said and the look on Shikamaru's face about killed me."

"So you and Shikaku still aren't' on good terms," Kakashi said relaxing again.

"No, not at all. No matter what I do, after that first incident, Shikaku has always found a way of hating me, although it's not like I wasn't helping in that matter."

"Shikaku is trying to find someone to blame for everything and you're the easiest target," Kakashi said.

Asuma sighed and laid his head hard on the counter.

"Why don't you go home and get some rest, Asuma," Kakashi said as he stood up.

"Yeah," Asuma said. "I think I will." He laid some money down on the counter for the drinks, said goodbye to Kakashi, and headed home.


	22. Goodbye

"She hasn't improved at all," Shizune said sadly as Tsunade read through the latest reports on Temari.

"No," Tsunade said as a statement more than an answer, "and honestly, I don't think she will."

Shizune looked over at Shikamaru who was sleeping soundly in the chair next to Temari's bed, his head resting on his arms that were crossed on the edge of the bed. "This is going to kill him."

Tsunade let out a slow breath. "Honestly, I've only been selfish keeping her this way."

"Ma'am?" Shizune asked confused.

Tsunade let a small smile cross her features. "When I see the two of them together, it reminds me of Dan and the way we were. Seeing Temari like this... I guess I just didn't want to go through that again." She looked over at Shizune. "Unless we can find some kind of miracle, she won't make it." She closed her eyes and headed for the door.

Shizune looked sadly at Temari, then turned and followed Tsunade out of the room.

A tear slide down Shikamaru's cheek and he opened his eyes. He sat up and grabbed Temari's hand.

The door opened and he heard someone walk in. Shikamaru didn't have to look at him to know that it was Asuma. "Hey, how's she doing?"

"She lied to us."

"Huh?" Asuma asked confused. "Who lied to us?"

"Tsunade," Shikamaru said with a bit of venom in his voice. He turned to Asuma. "She knows Temari won't make it, but she's been giving us hope this whole time." He turned back to Temari. "Unless we can find a miracle, she won't make it," he said quietly. "That's what she said."

Asuma placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "I'm sorry." He watched the tears fall down Shikamaru's face, saw how broken he was, but he wasn't sure if he should try to comfort the boy or not.

Shikamaru stood up and turned to Asuma. He closed his eyes and pretty much fell into Asuma's chest, wrapping his arms around the older man, and let everything out.

Asuma just wrapped his arms around Shikamaru and comforted him the best he could, planting a soft kiss on top of Shikamaru's head.

They stayed that way for quite a while until finally Shikamaru's sobs quieted down. Asuma took that chance to lift Shikamaru's face toward his and planted a gentle kiss on the boy's lips.

Shikamaru tensed at the sudden move and placed both hands on Asuma's chest, but didn't really try to push Asuma away. When Asuma broke off the kiss, he looked away.

"I'm really sorry, Shikamaru," Asuma said. "I know how much she meant to you. I know that I can never replace her, and I would never try to." Shikamaru stepped away from Asuma and turned his back to him. "Shika..."

"Just stop," Shikamaru said and placed his hand on his stomach. He let a small smile cross his face as he felt Tobikuma move around for the first time since the attack, but lost it just as quickly again.

"I'm sorry," Asuma said and headed for the door.

Shikamaru looked over at him. "Asuma, wait."

Asuma's hand was on the door handle, but made no move to open the door or to turn around.

Shikamaru let out a shaky breath. "I know that you were just trying to help, but... I just need time." He looked over to Temari. "You can blame Tsunade."

Asuma looked up at him surprised. "What?"

Shikamaru didn't turn away from Temari. "If she hadn't lied to us, told us straight away that there was nothing she could do when dad first brought her in, then maybe..." he turned to look at Asuma, "... maybe I would've been able to get over her death a bit by now."

"But would that change the way you felt about me?" Asuma asked. "Would you have let me get closer to you in your mourning?" Shikamaru looked down, and Asuma closed the distance between them. He lifted Shikamaru's face. "Would you have let me take her place in your life as the one who would be there for you and help you raise this child?" he asked, placing a hand on Shikamaru's stomach at the end, a small smile appearing and looking down when he felt Tobikuma move.

"I... I don't know," Shikamaru admitted and pushed Asuma's hand from his face. He stepped away from him when he heard the door open.

They both looked over and saw Yoshino walk in, followed by Shikaku.

Asuma stepped away from Shikamaru a bit more when he saw Shikaku look at him. He then looked over at Shikamaru. "I guess I'll see you later," he said then quickly passed the two newcomers and left the room.

Shikamaru sighed and sat back down in the chair, staring at Temari.

"How is she?" Yoshino asked as she came up behind Shikamaru and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Dead," he said quietly.

"Don't talk like that, son," Shikaku said. "There's still a chance..."

"No there's not, dad," Shikamaru said angrily as he turned to face the older Nara. "Tsunade and Shizune were in here not long ago. They thought I was asleep so they talked as if I couldn't hear them. Tsunade said she wouldn't make it." He looked back over at Temari sadly. "She never had a chance."

Yoshino and Shikaku were both surprised at what he said.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru. That was careless of me."

The three Naras turned and saw Tsunade walking in. "You gave us false hope?" Yoshino asked.

"I wanted to believe there was a way we could save her, but there have been no improvements whatsoever, plus the fact that her entire body was crushed. Even if she did wake up by some miracle, she would be completely paralyzed," Tsunade said.

"So there's absolutely nothing we can do," Shikaku said more than asked.

Tsunade closed her eyes. "No, I'm sorry."

The room was quiet until Shikamaru stood up. They all watched as he walked over and bent over Temari to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead, then turned and walked to the door. "Let her go," he said quietly.

The three adults just stared in shock at this and watched him leave the room.

NNNNNNNNNNN

A knock was heard on the door, and Gaara looked up to see a young shinobi walk in. "Sir, a letter from Konoha."

"Thank you," Gaara said as he accepted the letter.

They young shinobi bowed and exited the room.

He furrowed his brow at the letter, having a sudden sense of dread come over him, and opened it.

_Gaara,_

_I am sorry to report that Temari has been killed as a result of an attack_

_on the village. There was nothing that we could've done to save her._

_I am deeply sorry for your loss, and know that she will also be missed_

_by many here as well._

_Tsunade_

Gaara sat the letter down on his desk. He closed his eyes and clutched at his chest, tears streaming down his face.

The door opened and Kankuro walked in. "Hey, Gaara, I know... Hey, what's wrong?!" He rushed over to Gaara's side then saw the letter on Gaara's desk. He read it over and stumbled back wide eyed. "No way." He then slumped down the wall, tears welling up in his eyes. "She... she can't be..."

Gaara looked over at his brother. "We must go to Konoha at once."

NNNNNNNNNNN

It took Gaara, Kankuro, Baki, and Matsuri three full days to reach Konoha. When they arrived, Shikaku had met them and led them directly to the hospital. They had already started preparations for Temari's burial, but waited until the Suna party arrived to complete them. Gaara and Kankuro were grateful for the chance to say goodbye to their sister.

The funeral was held the next day, and just like it seemed to do at all funerals, it had started to rain, as if the ancestors themselves were crying for the loss of this precious life.

Afterwards, they held a small gathering at the Nara estate. Everyone giving their condolences to Shikamaru, Gaara, and Kankuro.

Shikamaru could no longer handle it and slipped outside. He stood on the porch of his family home and leaned against the wall, staring at the pouring rain. He wasn't very surprised when he saw Asuma come up to him.

"I swear, Asuma, if you ask me if I'm ok, I'll punch you," Shikamaru said not looking at him.

Asuma gave him a small smile, but said nothing. They stood there in silence, the only sound coming from the rain and the sound of Asuma blowing out the smoke from his cigarette.

Shikamaru watched Asuma as he took another drag. "You know, mom will make you stop smoking if you're going to be around me."

Asuma looked over at him. "Huh?"

"She's said it on more than one occasion since I started hanging around with you again. She's constantly saying 'It's not good for the baby or your health,'" Shikamaru explained.

Asuma chuckled and threw the cigarette on the ground. "Yeah, I guess she has a point."

Shikamaru looked back out across the lawn into the forest that surrounded the house. "I've thought about what you said."

Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Lady Tsunade hasn't really mentioned it yet, but I know I'm right when I said she'll probably force me to marry you," Shikamaru said crossing his arms.

"Will it really be that bad?" Asuma asked.

"I can tell you my dad won't be happy about it," Shikamaru said avoiding the actual question he was asking.

"And what about you?" Asuma asked a bit more directly this time.

Shikamaru looked down. "I hate what you did to me, and honestly, it scares me a bit to think that you would do it again because it will be your right too."

"Shikamaru, you know I would never do that," Asuma said. "I love you and don't want anything to happen to you. If you don't want me to touch you, then I won't."

"The problem is," he said looking at Asuma, "I know you'll try to make me want it."

Asuma looked away from him. He knew Shikamaru was right. He had had a hard enough time keeping himself from Shikamaru before this whole thing started, and since he got a taste of the boy, he couldn't deny that he wouldn't try. "I..."

Shikamaru sighed and pushed himself off the side of the house. He walked past Asuma and was about to re-enter the house, when Shikamaru suddenly disappeared.

Asuma's eyes went wide.


	23. Trouble Again

"Shikamaru's gone!" Asuma yelled as he ran into the room.

Everyone quieted down and turned to look at him. Shikaku and Yoshino walked over to him. "What do you mean he's gone?" Shikaku asked.

"He just disappeared," Asuma said.

"You mean like you guys did eight and a half months ago?" Ino asked as she walked up to the three, Choji right behind her.

"Yeah," Asuma said looking at her, then turned back to Shikaku. "Whoever took us before has Shikamaru again."

"We don't know that for sure though," Tsunade said walking up to them with Shizune right on her heel.

"Yeah, but this person is the only one that makes since, ma'am," Shizune said. "I mean, if he did it once to put them into this situation, wouldn't he want to know the result of the experiment he started?"

Sakura, Kakashi, Kiba, Kurenai, and Lee, who was holding a sleeping Taro, all walked up to them. "He said that he was watching us before he took us," Sakura said. "He could've seen the results like that."

"Yeah, but he wouldn't be able to look at the test results of what was going on in Lee or Shikamaru's bodies, or of the babies afterwards," Shizune said.

"So why didn't he just keep Shikamaru or Lee that time?" Kiba asked. "And why did he take me, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Sakura?"

"We'll never know the answers to that," Tsunade said. "My best guess is that this person just has a sick mind, and decided to pleasure himself along with the experiment."

Lee looked down at Taro. "Will he try to take Taro too?"

Everyone turned to Lee. "I doubt it," Kakashi said. "Whoever this is will have Shikamaru's kid to see the results of that."

"Yeah, and with him being two weeks from his due date, he could have the kid at any time, or…" Sakura said then stopped.

"Or what?" Yoshino asked afraid of the answer.

"Or they'll just cut the child out of Shikamaru the moment he arrives," Tsunade finished.

Everyone paled at that thought.

"Poor Shika," Ino said.

"And the worst part is," Kurenai said, "is we don't even know where Shikamaru is."

NNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and carefully sat up. He placed a hand on his stomach to try and calm Tobikuma down since he was moving around like crazy. "Uhh, what happened?" He looked around and realized that he was in a large room that seem eerily familiar. "Where…" His eyes went wide when he saw the chains on the walls, four sets, one on each wall. "This is…"

"Welcome back."

Shikamaru turned his head and saw someone standing on the opposite side of the room. "Orochimaru," he said a bit panicked. "You kidnapped us and drugged me and Lee so that we would have kids?"

"An experiment that I have been eagerly awaiting the results for," Orochimaru said as he stepped toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru started sliding back on his butt, since he couldn't get up very fast with his huge stomach, but hit something. When he looked behind him to see what he hit, he saw two men and felt their hands grab both of his arms and raised him up to his feet.

Orochimaru placed a hand on the side of Shikamaru's face, which got Shikamaru's attention again, and stared into his eyes.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide when he realized that the eyes staring at him right now were the same eyes he had seen when Asuma raped him. "It was you."

"I think we already established that," Orochimaru said rubbing his thumb over Shikamaru's lips.

Shikamaru jerked his head away from Orochimaru's hand, but it didn't help because he still felt Orochimaru's fingers on his cheek. "You took over Asuma's body when he raped me," Shikamaru clarified and turned back to glare at the man.

Orochimaru let out a small chuckle and smiled. "I did quiet enjoy that."

"And you took over Guy's body too, didn't you?" Shikamaru said.

"Yes, but I didn't enjoy that as much as I did you."

Shikamaru paled a bit at that, but continued. "But how? How did you take over Asuma and Guy's bodies?"

Orochimaru leaned forward so that he was right next to Shikamaru's ear, which made Shikamaru try and move away from him. "Because I had put my D.N.A. into the serum that I injected into you. Although," he said pulling away from the boy, "it was harder than I thought, so I couldn't do it as often as I wanted to. And after a certain point, I couldn't do it at all."

"So that means you knew Asuma and Guy would get the serum in their bodies," Shikamaru said.

"When I watched what Asuma did to you that day," Orochimaru replied and smiled when he saw the disgusted face Shikamaru was making, "I knew that there would be a chance of it. It was easier to take over Guy's body than Asuma's though, but I'm guessing that was because Guy took more and more of the serum into his body the more he played with Lee."

"So if Asuma hadn't…" Shikamaru said looking down.

"If he hadn't given you that rousing blow job, I never would've been able to take over his body."

Shikamaru looked back up at him and glared. "You're sick."

Orochimaru chuckled again. "Maybe," he said and leaned closer to Shikamaru again, "but it does make things much more interesting."

A shiver went down Shikamaru's spine when he felt something wet start trailing down his next. Again he tried to get away from the older man, but couldn't move thanks to the two men holding him in place.

"Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru pulled away from Shikamaru, a displeased look on his face, and turned to the man that interrupted his fun. "What is it, Kabuto?"

"Sorry, sir, but I have everything set up," Kabuto said. "We're ready to do the delivery."

Orochimaru smiled. "Excellent. Let's get to it then." He then looked back at Shikamaru and placed a hand on the side of Shikamaru's face again. "And afterwards, I can play with my new toy."

Shikamaru went pale at that statement.

When the two men started moving him forward, he finally noticed a door that wasn't there before. They traveled down several halls until they reached a room that smelled of disinfectant and had several different types of medical equipment. The two men took him over to a bed that was in the middle of the room and sat him down on it.

Shikamaru struggled against the men as they laid him down and held him to the bed. He watched as Kabuto went over to a small table and picked up a syringe. "No!" he yelled and tried even harder to get loose from the two men's grips, but the extra wait on top of him from Tobikuma wasn't helping. "Stop!" he yelled again and stared in horror as Kabuto emptied the contents of the syringe into his body. "What was that?" he asked looking up at Kabuto.

"Oh, just a little something to calm you down," Kabuto said as he turned and picked up a scalpel. "Won't help with the pain much though," he said with an evil smile.

Shikamaru continued to struggle against the men's grips, but soon found that his body was starting to relax, and his mind was starting to fog over. Soon he couldn't move his body at all.

"That should keep him out of it for the procedure, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait until it wares off too play with him," Kabuto said as he raised Shikamaru's shirt, swabbed down the area, and placed the scalpel on Shikamaru's stomach.

"I can wait. Sasuke has asked me to help him train a bit anyway," Orochimaru said.

Shikamaru screamed out in pain as Kabuto cut into his stomach, keeping a stead amount of chakra flowing through his hands so that there wouldn't be too much blood. It took a few minutes to actually get down to the baby, but soon Kabuto pulled the baby out and handed him to Orochimaru.

"I shall get him cleaned up as you finish with him," Orochimaru said.

"Yes, of course," Kabuto said already using his medical ninjutsu to seal up the opening. Once he was finished, he went over to the baby, who was screaming his head off now that his airways were cleared. "I'll begin running the tests on him immediately."

Orochimaru nodded and walked over to Shikamaru who was staring in a daze at the baby.

"Give him to me," Shikamaru said groggily.

"Sorry, but you're in no condition to hold him," Orochimaru said.

"Tobi," Shikamaru said then closed his eyes.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was back in the room he first woke up in. He couldn't move anything, but didn't feel anything either.  _'Orochimaru must have told Kabuto to give me something for the pain. Tsk, he could've told him to do it earlier when they were actually cutting Tobi out of me.'_

"You're awake."

Shikamaru looked over to where the voice came from and could see a blurry figure sitting close by. He blinked a few times and finally saw who it was. "Temari?"

"Hey, lazy," Temari replied with a smile.

Shikamaru closed his eyes. "You're not really here."

"No. The pain killer Kabuto gave you is making you hallucinate," Temari said. "But hey, at least you get to see me again."

A tear escaped from one of his eyes. "I miss you, Tem."

Shikamaru heard her shuffle and opened his eyes to see her walking over to him. She sat down next to him and placed a hand on the side of his head. She leaned down and he felt a light touch on his lips. "I will always love you," she said when she pulled away. "And I know that you will never forget me." She laid down so that she was eye level with him. "I mean, out of everyone you could've hallucinated about, you chose me," she said with a smile.

"It hurt to let you go," he said. He tried to reach over to her, to place his hand on her cheek one last time, but his arm wouldn't listen to him.

Temari reached over again and touched the hand that was laying in between them. He was so glad that they laid him on his side when they brought him back here. "I know, but you have to move on now. I know that you don't want to hear this, and honestly, I don't want to say it either, but you need to be with Asuma."

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "But…"

Temari shook her head. "Don't," she said cutting him off. "He loves you. I could see that the moment I saw him after the incident. He had finally gotten ahold of you and he didn't want to let you go, but he knew that you wouldn't be happy, so he chose to make himself unhappy." She moved closer to him and he closed his eyes when she kissed him again. "Shika," she said pulling away again, "I am a creation of you mind. I'm only telling you what you already know, and that is that you can't raise Tobikuma yourself. I know this is going to hurt you, but I can feel that you do have feelings for him."

Shikamaru went wide eyed. "Tem, I never…"

"Shhh," she stopped him placing a finger over his lips. "I know. I can feel that your love for me was stronger, but you can't deny that you started feeling something for him. The two of you now have a bond that was stronger than anything we ever had."

"Tobi."

"Yeah." She smiled at him again. "You have to find a way to get out of here. I know you don't want to think about it, but you know Orochimaru is going to do things to you, but you have to stay strong."

Shikamaru closed his eyes again. He was starting to get tired again. "I know."

"The drugs they gave you are making you drowsy," Temari said and sat up.

"No, please, don't go," Shikamaru begged. He tried to get up again, but his body still wouldn't move.  _'Dang it, why can't I move?'_

"I'll always be by your side, Shika, even if you can't see me. You know I'll always be watching over you," she said with a smile.

Shikamaru's eyelids were becoming heavy. His vision began to blur again and he could feel the tears falling down his cheeks. "Tem."

"Goodbye, Shika," he heard her say, then he fell back into darkness.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

"Kabuto, what have you learned?" Orochimaru said as he walked into the room.

"A lot actually. After I got the kid to stop crying, I went over to exam Shikamaru's body, and there are absolutely no traces that he even had a kid," Kabuto said.

"And you usually would in a woman?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes, after a woman has a child, her uterus is scared. Plus, all the stretch marks that accompanies a suddenly growing stomach, but with Shikamaru, there's nothing. No stretch marks, no scaring, and in the half hour I had him in here, his stomach had returned to its normal size," Kabuto said impressed. "I also took a sample of Shikamaru's blood before I had your goons take him back to the room, and found out the serum is still in his body. We could see first-hand what the serum does to his body now that it's not growing a child, but you'll have to make sure he doesn't get pregnant again."

"I have felt what it does through Asuma and Guy," Orochimaru said. "It gives one a surge of sexual urges. That is not what interests me."

"Are you saying you want him to give you a child?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru smiled. "You are perceptive, Kabuto." He then looked over at Tobikuma, who was sleeping on a small table. "What have you learned about the child."

"Actually, I was just about to bring that up," Kabuto said shuffling through some papers on his desk. He found the one he was looking for and handed it to Orochimaru.

"Kabuto, you know I don't care about what's on the paper," Orochimaru said looking at the paper.

"Yes, sir, but if you look there," Kabuto said pointing to a few figures on the paper, "you'll see that this child doesn't have just two D.N.A. strands, but three." Orochimaru frowned. "This child's D.N.A. is fifty percent Shikamaru's, forty-seven percent Asuma's, and three percent yours."

"My D.N.A. carried over to the child because of the serum?" Orochimaru asked looking back at Kabuto.

Kabuto smiled. "Yes. So this child," he said walking over to the baby, "is three percent yours."

Orochimaru smiled. "So I could claim him if I wanted to, but I do not think three percent is enough to call the child mine."

"I understand, but I thought you would like to know," Kabuto said walking back over to his desk.

Orochimaru stared down at the baby for another second then turned and walked to the door. "I leave him to you, Kabuto."

"Yes, sir, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said. When Orochimaru went through the door, another smile crossed his face. "Have fun."

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikaku walked into Tsunade's office and saw Inoichi sitting cross-legged on the floor. He walked closer to Inoichi and saw that he was making the Ram hand sign with his eyes closed, a position he has seen Inoichi do many times. "Anything?"

Inoichi didn't flinch or open his eyes. "Sorry, nothing yet."

Shikaku looked down sadly. "I won't bother you again," he said and started to walk away.

"Shikaku, wait," Inoichi said and finally turned to the Nara. "Just because I haven't found him yet doesn't mean anything. He could just be unconscious or asleep."

Shikaku sighed and walked back over to Inoichi. "I know," he said sitting down.

"Hey, we've already determined that he can't be too far away if whoever did this can transport Shikamaru directly to the place their holding him," Inoichi said. "That means I should be able to find him with my Mind Transmission Jutsu."

"I know," Shikaku said. "It's just been several hours already."

Inoichi leaned over and placed his hand on Shikaku's shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine. I'm going to keep trying, no matter what."

Shikaku gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Hey," Inoichi said as he leaned back, "you know you can always count on me."

Shikaku stood back up. "Yeah, I know. You and Choza have always been there by my side when I needed you most. I'll leave you to it then," he said and walked out the door.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes. This time he was standing and could feel something around his wrists. He looked up and saw that his wrists were now in one of the sets of chains on the wall.  _'Great, this again.'_  He looked around and didn't see anyone in the room this time, nor the door that he knew would be his only escape.  _'It has to be hidden with some kind of jutsu.'_ "Now I just have to get free of these stupid chains and figure out how to dispel the jutsu."

"That won't be as easy as you think."

Shikamaru looked around the room again and saw Orochimaru standing in one of the corners of the room.  _'Dang it, how can I keep missing what's right in front of me?'_

Orochimaru chuckled at Shikamaru's frustrated face and walked over to him. "Don't worry, you're not going crazy." He placed his hand on the side of Shikamaru's face and ran his thumb over Shikamaru's lips again. He then got close to his ear. "I used a transportation jutsu this time to get in the room."

Shikamaru tried to get away from The Sannin's touch. "What do you want from me?"

"Can't you figure it out?" Orochimaru said as he trailed his tongue over Shikamaru's ear, causing the boy to shudder.

"You have Sasuke for that," Shikamaru said.

"Yes, but I like to have fresh meat every once in a while," The Sannin replied. He ran one of his hands up underneath Shikamaru's shirt and pinched one of his nipples, his other hand reaching around and touching Shikamaru's butt.

Shikamaru squeezed his eyes shut at the feeling of The Sannin's hands and tongue roaming over his body. "Please don't do this," he begged.

Orochimaru chuckled and pulled away from his ear. "Your mine," he said before smashing his lips over the boy's.

Shikamaru tried to turn his head to get out of the kiss, but the hand that was on his butt was now forcing his head to stay still. He felt Orochimaru's tongue pushing on his lips, trying to gain entrance, but he was determined to keep his mouth clamped shut. He struggled against the chains again, but froze when he felt Orochimaru's hand slip under the waistband of his pants and boxers.  _'No. Please, no.'_

Orochimaru took that moment to push his tongue through Shikamaru's lips, and Shikamaru had to resist the urge to bit the offending thing off. The last thing he wanted was a piece of this monster's tongue and blood in his mouth. He was soon choking on the long tongue as it slithered down his throat.

Orochimaru smiled when he pulled away and saw Shikamaru coughing. "You'll learn to get used to that," he told Shikamaru. He then removed his hand from Shikamaru's pants and proceeded to undo them and pull both the pants and the boxers down.

Shikamaru watched as Orochimaru knelt down and swallowed his member completely, making Shikamaru take in a sharp breath. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall behind him. He did not want to see this monster's face as he being 'pleasured.'  _'No, this is not pleasurable. This is…'_  "Agh!" he cried out as Orochimaru sucked hard on his member, causing it to go even further in Orochimaru's mouth.

Shikamaru panted hard as Orochimaru continued his assault on his member. Try as he might, he couldn't hold back the moans that escaped his lips, or keep himself from thrusting himself into the hot mouth that was making him feel so good. "Agh!" He could feel that familiar feeling swelling up in his stomach. He felt Orochimaru squeeze his balls and he couldn't hold it in anymore. He arched his back, thrusting himself into Orochimaru's mouth as far as he could, and let out his release.

"Well, well," Orochimaru said as he stood up to face the boy. Shikamaru just glared at him as he panted. "Seems like you enjoyed my mouth as much as you did Asuma's."

Shikamaru looked away, his face red.

Orochimaru pulled down his own pants, reveling his ten-inch, rock hard member. Shikamaru's eyes went wide.  _'He's bigger than Asuma!'_

Orochimaru saw the look of fear in Shikamaru's face and smiled. "Don't worry," he said as he grabbed Shikamaru's legs and wrapped them around his waist. He positioned his member over Shikamaru's hole, then leaned in closer to Shikamaru's ear. "I'll make sure it all goes in."

Shikamaru's breathing was fast and heavy. He closed his eyes when he felt the tip of The Sannin's member start to enter him, and threw his head back as it plowed its way deep inside of him. The pain was excruciating, and he could already feel himself wet with what had to be blood.  _'Asuma never did this to me. Asuma…'_

He heard Orochimaru's grunts in his ear, felt the hands that were roaming his body and the tongue that was sliding its way around his neck. His body felt like it was on fire with every thrust. Then he felt his lips being smashed together with the others, that long tongue making its way up his jaw and into his mouth, sliding its way deeper into his throat.  _'Help me. Please! Someone! Asuma, save me!'_

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Inoichi strained himself again, sweat starting to roll down his face as he concentrated, trying to get his mind to go farther. He had to find Shikamaru. Everyone was counting on him.

"Dad?"

Inoichi relaxed, taking in deep breaths as he opened his eyes and saw Ino standing there in front of him with a worried expression on her face. "I'm alright."

"No, you're not, dad," she said as she knelt down and wiped his face with the a cold, damp cloth.

Inoichi relax even more and closed his eyes and he felt the cool rag go over his face. He opened them again when she pulled the rag away and saw her hold out a water bottle. "Thanks," he said as he grabbed the bottle and chugged the cool water.

"You're pushing yourself too hard, dad," Ino said as she sat down in front of him.

"I have to," he said as he sat the bottle down beside him. "I can't let everyone down. I'm the only on that can find Shikamaru."

"No, you're not." Inoichi looked at her surprised. "I'm a Yamanaka too. I'll help you."

"Ino, you're not ready for this kind of jutsu yet."

"So I'll lend you my chakra," she said. "Or provide any assistance you need. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep this up."

Inoichi smiled at her. "Thank you. Two heads are better than one."

Ino smiled at him. "So, what do you need me to do?"

"Place your hand on my head and focus your chakra into me. I'll use your chakra to boost my range and hopefully that will be enough to find Shikamaru," he said.

"Right."

Inoichi closed his eyes again and made the Rat hand sign again and concentrated on sending his mind out.

Ino placed her hand on her father's head and closed her eyes, focusing her chakra so that it would transfer into her father. Soon, she felt like she was flying. Soring through the air as if she was a bird. She knew this feeling from when she missed her target when using the Mind Transfer technique.  _"What's going on?"_

_"_ _I'm using your chakra to go further than I could previously. Your mind is seeing where it's going."_

_"_ _This is amazing."_

_"_ _Yeah, it is, but right now we need to focus. Try and sense out Shikamaru's mind. You've been on his team and have used your mind jutsus with him, so you'll probably be able to sense him better than I could."_

_"_ _Right."_

Ino continued to fly through the air, over treetops, river, villages, and suddenly she felt it.  _"Dad, I feel like something's pulling at me."_

_"_ _Go towards it. It might be that your chakra has found a familiar chakra."_

_"_ _Okay."_

She focused her chakra and was soon racing in a new direction. She flew over more trees until she came across a building. It was surrounded by huge boulders and covered in vines, and it looked like it was halfway buried in the ground. She found a stone archway with a wooden door, snakes carved into it.  _"Dad, I'm going in."_

_"_ _I'm right here with you, but be careful. We don't know what may be in here."_

Ino mentally nodded and pushed her way through the door. She made her way down several dimly lit hallways, following the chakra that was pulling her. She finally came up to a door. The chakra was stronger here, so that must've meant that Shikamaru was behind it.

She pushed her way through the door, but what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. Shikamaru was on the ground on his hands and knees completely naked. His face was contorted in both pain and pleasure as Orochimaru continually thrust inside him.

_"_ _Dad!"_

_"_ _Ino, you need to calm down. Don't lose focus."_

_"_ _But, dad, he's…"_

_"_ _I know."_

Ino could tell that her dad was having as much trouble with this as she was, but she knew she had to push all that aside.  _"What do we do now?"_

_"_ _We return to our bodies."_

_"_ _What? But we found him!"_

_"_ _Yes, but your chakra is getting low. If we continue any longer, we'll be putting your life in danger. Now that we know where he is we can help him."_

_"_ _Okay."_

She focused on returning to her body and suddenly she opened her eyes wide and took in a deep breath.

"Ino!" She focused on her surroundings and that she was back in Tsunade's office, then saw her dad looking at her worried, his arms on her shoulders. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said as she tried to take a few more deep breaths.

"I'm sorry. I should have warned you to go back slowly. Suddenly jumping back in your body from such a far distance is like ramming your whole body into a wall at your top speed. It really knocks the air out of you," he said as he sat back.

"You aren't kidding," she said and grabbed the water bottle that her father held out to her. "But that was amazing."

"Inoichi smiled. "Yes, and with time you'll be able to do it on your own."

"But is that all we can do with that jutsu? We can just find them?"

"No, if we had more time, we could've connected with Shikamaru's mind and talked to him. Although, I don't think I would've let you in that moment," he said red starting to show on his face.

"Uh, yeah," Ino said, her own blush showing.

The door suddenly opened and Tsunade, Shikaku, and Asuma all walked in. "Inoichi, I felt you calling us here. Did you find him?" Shikaku asked hopefully.

"Yeah, with Ino's help, we did," Inoichi said. "We know where he is."


	24. Rescue

"You really found him?" Asuma asked.

"Yeah," Inoichi replied. "He's about two days from here. We should leave now," he turned to Tsunade, "with your permission, of course."

"Of course," Tsunade replied. "The four of you may leave at once."

Shikaku frowned. "I'd like to request a different person to go with us."

The three looked at him confused.

"I helped find him. I have a right to go too," Ino said trying not to shout.

"I wasn't talking about you, Ino," Shikaku replied. "I meant him," he said as he nodded toward Asuma, then turned to Tsunade. "I'd like a medical shinobi to join us." He turned to Ino. "No offense."

"None taken," Ino replied. "I've never been as good at medical ninjutsu as Sakura."

"That would be a good idea, actually," Inoichi said, a slight blush forming on his face.

Ino blushed. "Yeah, he'll probably need it."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the two Yamanakas. "Mind telling us what you two saw?"

"He… Well…" Inoichi started.

"Orochimaru was raping him," Ino finished.

Shikaku, Asuma, and Tsunade's eyes went wide. "Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked. "He's the one behind all this?"

"Yes, ma'am," Inoichi said.

"It makes sense if you think about it," Asuma spoke up. They all looked at him. "I mean, who else would be sick enough to force and watch four couples have sex with each other and drug two males so that they can have kids."

"He has a point," Ino said.

Tsunade nodded. "Alright. Shizune should still be at the hospital. Take her with you."

"Then Inoichi, Ino, and I will stop by there and pick her up as we head out," Shikaku said as he started for the door.

"I'm going too."

Shikaku stopped and turned toward Asuma. "I don't think so."

Asuma, with a determined face, took a few steps toward Shikaku. "Shikaku, Temari is gone. Shikamaru's going to need someone to help him raise the kid, and I am the kid's father too." He stopped when he was three steps from Shikaku.

"Yoshino and I will help him raise the kid," Shikaku stated.

"You can't keep me away from them," Asuma said. "Shikamaru already told you that he tore up that restraining order; that he wants me around."

"Around," Shikaku said. "That doesn't mean he's going to be living with you now."

"And what if Lady Tsunade orders him to marry me?" Asuma said raising his voice slightly.

"I will not let that happen," Shikaku said taking a step toward Asuma. "I will not let my son live with the man that hurt him."

"I would never hurt him. Not intentionally."

"But you did! You raped him. You hurt him after you said you wouldn't."

Asuma looked down. "I…"

"That's enough!" Both Asuma and Shikaku looked over to Tsunade. "What are you, five? Our first priority is to get Shikamaru back. We can discuss what happens afterwards when he is back in the village.

"But, ma'am…" Shikaku started.

"I don't want to hear it, Shikaku," Tsunade said cutting him off. "Asuma is going and that's final. You'll need all the manpower you can get for this, and with it being such short notice, Asuma is the only one available."

"I can find others," Shikaku said.

"No. Time is of the essence here," Tsunade said. "Inoichi already said it'll take two days to get there. You two bickering like this is giving Orochimaru that much more time to do whatever he wants to your son." She glared at him. "If you really don't want to be on a team with Asuma, then  _you_  can stay behind."

Shikaku went wide eyed, then lowered his head. "Fine," he said and walked toward the door and opened it. Before he walked out he turned to Asuma. "You can go," he said then walked out.

Inoichi and Ino had watched the whole thing wide eyed, but left too after Shikaku walked out the door.

Asuma stood there, his face downcast. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Tsunade looking at him with a small smile. "We'll get everything straightened out when you get back."

Asuma gave her a small smile, nodded, and left.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikamaru sat on the examination table in Kabuto's laboratory feeding Tobikuma. He watched as the little boy sucked on the nipple, his face slightly red.

"I'm actually quite impressed that your body activated your mammary glands," Kabuto said as he walked up to Shikamaru and placed a hand on Shikamaru's other swollen breast.

Shikamaru's face went even redder and he grabbed Kabuto's hand and pushed it away. "Don't touch me."

Kabuto smiled. "Now, now. I am your doctor," he said and placed his hand back on Shikamaru's breast and gave it a slight squeeze.

Shikamaru took in a sharp breath. He didn't like what Kabuto was doing, but he knew that Kabuto wouldn't give up on this.

"Does it hurt?" Kabuto asked after he heard Shikamaru.

"A bit," Shikamaru said focusing on Tobikuma. He may have to deal with what Kabuto was doing, but he didn't have to watch.

"I wonder how long they're going to be swollen like that?" Kabuto wondered as he pulled his hand away from Shikamaru and wrote something done on a clipboard. He then turned and walked away to do something else.

Shikamaru relaxed when Kabuto walked away. He continued to watch Tobikuma feed and felt Tobikuma's sucking start to slow. Shikamaru smiled.  _'He must be getting tired. Mom did say that after they're born they would pretty much just eat and sleep.'_

He looked up when he heard someone walk it. He was really surprised when he saw Sasuke walk in.  _'Even though I knew he was here, I didn't think I would ever see him.'_

"What do you want, Sasuke," Kabuto asked without turning around.

"I need some more bandages for my arm," Sasuke said, completely ignoring the fact that Shikamaru was sitting a few feet from him half naked with a baby in his arms.

Kabuto turned around. "Is it healing alright?" he asked as he walked over and pulled more bandages out of a cabinet.

"Yeah," was all Sasuke said.

"Maybe I should take another look at it. It was pretty bad when I patched it up the first time," Kabuto said as he walked over and held out the bandages.

"It's fine," Sasuke said as he grabbed the bandages and walked away. Before he got out the door he stopped. "And, Nara, keep that brat quiet." He then walked out the door.

Shikamaru scowled at the Uchiha. "Jerk."

"Don't be too hard on him," Kabuto said as he walked up to Shikamaru again. "He's always like that." He grabbed Tobikuma and tried to take him, but Shikamaru kept his grip on the child. "Hand him over, Shikamaru. I have to give you your check up and I can't do that while you're holding him."

Shikamaru reluctantly let Tobikuma go and Kabuto took the child to the makeshift crib and laid him down before returning to Shikamaru.

"Alright, lay down," Kabuto said.

Shikamaru did as he was told and Kabuto started pushing down on Shikamaru's stomach.  _'Please don't find anything,'_  he begged as he closed his eyes. When he no longer felt Kabuto's hands, he opened his eyes and saw the dissatisfied look on Kabuto's face. He let out a sigh of relief.

Kabuto walked back over to his desk, picked up the clipboard and wrote something on it. "You can go back to your room now," he said without turning around.

Two men entered the room and walked over to Shikamaru as he sat up. They each placed a hand on his arms and pulled him off the table.

Shikamaru glared at the two. "I can walk by myself."

The two ignored him and pulled him toward the door.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Shikaku, Inoichi, Ino, Asuma, and Shizune landed on the ground in front of the hidden entrance Inoichi and Ino saw. "This is it," Ino said.

"There aren't any guards around," Shizune said.

"Orochimaru probably doesn't expect anyone to find him, but we should still be on our guard," Shikaku said. He then turned to Inoichi. "Can you tell where Shikamaru is?"

Inoichi closed his eyes and made the Ram hand sign. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and turned toward Shikaku. "Shikamaru is in a large room by himself in the west half of the layer. He wasn't… uh, big anymore, so I looked around and found the child was in what looked to be a lab room on the east side."

"So we'll need to split up and get them both," Shikaku said. "Did you see Orochimaru in there?"

"Or Kabuto?" Ino asked.

Inoichi shook his head. "I didn't see Orochimaru, so he must be out, but I did see Kabuto where the baby is."

Shikaku placed his hand on his chin and thought about how to proceed. "Alright," he said looking back at the group. "Inoichi, Ino, and Asuma will go after the baby. Shizune and I will find Shikamaru."

"Let me go with you," Asuma said.

Shikaku gave Asuma a small glare. "No, you'll be more useful by going with Inoichi and Ino with Kabuto being in the room."

Asuma looked down. "I understand."

Shikaku turned to Inoichi. "Which way should we go to get to Shikamaru?"

"Once we enter here," Inoichi said pointing toward the entrance, "we'll all go down a long corridor. We'll pass three junctions before you and Shizune will go left. You'll follow that hall until you reach the fifth tunnel on your right and go through that. After that go down until you get to the second tunnel in that hall, and it'll be the third door in that tunnel."

"That sounded really confusing," Shizune said. "You understood all that, right, Shikaku?"

"Yes," Shikaku said. "Alright, let's go."

The others nodded and they all headed in through the entrance. They followed the tunnel until they got to the third junction then broke off into two teams.

Shikaku and Shizune stayed quiet and alert as they passed through the corridors. Once they got to the final tunnel, they stopped to make sure no one was coming. "This seems too easy," Shizune said.

Shikaku's face scrunched up. "I was thinking the same thing. Either Orochimaru knows we're coming and has a trap laid, or he doesn't have his henchmen roaming through the halls because he's confident no one would find this layer."

"It looks more like the last option," Shizune said.

"Maybe, but don't let your guard down," Shikaku replied.

Shizune nodded and they both rounded the corner and headed for the door. Shikaku tried to open it, but he wasn't surprised to find it locked. He pulled a small explosive out of his weapons pouch, stuck it in the keyhole, and moved to the opposite side of the door in front of Shizune. He flipped a small switch and pushed the button and a small pop sounded.

When they entered the room, they saw Shikamaru sitting against the far wall, his eyes wide. "Dad?"

Shikaku and Shizune quickly walked over to him and Shizune knelt down to start examining him.

"You ok, son?" Shikaku asked as he knelt down in front of Shikamaru.

"Yeah," Shikamaru said as he watched Shizune use her medical jutsu to examine his midsection, "but really want to get out of here."

Shikaku smiled. "Well, that's why we're here." He looked over at Shizune.

Shizune looked up at him and shook her head. "I don't see anything wrong. He seems to be fine. I'll do a more thorough check when we get him out of here."

"Ok, let's go," Shikaku said as he grabbed Shikamaru's arm and helped him up.

"We have to get Tobi," Shikamaru said as they walked toward the door.

"Inoichi, Ino, and Asuma are getting him," Shizune said.

 _'_ _Asuma.'_  Shikamaru smiled.

NNNNNNNNNNNN

Inoichi, Asuma, and Ino crouched down behind the corner of the hall where the lab door was. Before they moved to go to the door, they heard it open and watched Kabuto walk out and walked in the opposite direction than the three Leaf Shinobi.

"That was close," Ino said.

"Yeah," Inoichi said. "Let's go before he comes back."

The three walked over to the door and Inoichi stood in front of the door and grabbed the handle while Ino stood behind him and Asuma stood in front of him, his trench knife out, ready to go in.

Inoichi pulled the door open and Asuma quickly went in, standing in a fighting stance, and looked around the room. When he didn't see anyone, he straightened up. "All clear."

Inoichi and Ino walked in the room and Inoichi closed the door behind them. "There's Tobi," Ino said pointing to the makeshift crib.

Asuma walked over to the crib and looked down at the baby. He reached down and rubbed the side of his finger down Tobikuma's cheek. He saw the boy had Shikamaru's facial features, but his hair kind of looked like his. He reached up and touched the top of Tobikuma's head gently.  _'It's definitely like mine. Course, but a little softer.'_  He smiled as he picked the baby up.

"Dad, look at this." Asuma turned and saw Ino looking at some papers that were on the desk. "I think these are Kabuto's medical observations on Shikamaru and Tobikuma."

Inoichi took one of the papers and looked at it. "We should take these with us so Lady Tsunade can look at them," he said.

Ino nodded and gathered up all the papers she could find that dealt with Shikamaru and Tobikuma. After that they all headed out the door and back through the corridors.

They met up with Shikaku, Shikamaru, and Shizune outside, and left the area without speaking. Once they were a good way away from the hideout, they stopped so Shizune could get a better look at Shikamaru.

Shikaku and Inoichi were talking and looking at the papers they found on Kabuto's desk, and Ino and Asuma joined Shizune and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru smiled when he saw Tobikuma in Asuma's arms. He reached out and ran his finger over Tobikuma's cheek and looked up at Asuma. "He doesn't really look like you."

Asuma chuckled. "No, but I think that's a good thing. You're way better looking than I am."

Shikamaru looked away from him and blushed. "Y-yeah I guess."

"Geez you two, get a room," Ino said annoyed.

A few minutes later, Shizune sat back. "Well, my initial results were right. There's nothing wrong with you, and there is no trace you even had a kid."

"What?" Ino said. "But I thought you can tell when someone has had a kid before?"

"Kabuto said the same thing," Shikamaru said as he took Tobikuma from Asuma. "He thinks that's the way the serum works."

"Was Lee the same way?" Asuma asked.

Shizune nodded. "Yes, he didn't have any signs that he had a kid either. The only real sign is the swollen breast from the mammary glands producing milk."

"Oh yeah," Ino said. "Now that you mention it, his chest is bigger."

Shikaku walked over to them. "I he ok?"

Shizune turned to him. "Yes, he's fine."

"Then we should get going," Shikaku said. "We need to get as much space between us and that hide out as possible."

"But what's to keep Orochimaru from taking him or Tobikuma again," Asuma asked.

Shikaku scowled in thought. "Nothing, but we're just going to have to hope he'll leave him alone."

Asuma and Shizune helped Shikamaru stand up and they started on the two-day journey back to the village.

"It still felt too easy to get him back," Shizune voiced.

They all agreed with her and were on high alert the entire way back.


	25. The Decision and New Beginnings

Shikamaru awoke to a loud scream. He bolted upright in his bed, only to realize it was Tobikuma.  _'Dang it, kid, not again.'_  He got out of bed and walked down the hall to Tobikuma's room.

When he walked into the room, memories of Temari flew through his mind. A few months before the attack, Temari finally persuaded him to get the two-bedroom apartment, and they slowly got the nursery ready over the next couple months. He looked over at the sand dunes on the wall that they put up and frowned. He really missed Temari and wished she was here now.

Another loud scream from Tobikuma brought him back to reality. He walked over to the crib and looked down at his crying son and sighed. "What do you need now?" he asked as he picked up the boy.

As soon as he got the boy in his arms, a horrible smell attacked his nose. "Geez, kid. How can you make such a horrid smell for your age?"

He walked over to the changing table and proceeded to change the diaper, which thankfully calmed Tobikuma down. Shikamaru sighed after he put the new diaper on, wiped his hands with a sanitary cloth, picked Tobikuma up, and carried him back over to his bed.

He sat down on his bed and stared at the wide eyed child in his arms. He smiled as Tobikuma chewed on his fingers. "I guess I can't really blame you for getting so upset. I'd cry too if I had to stay in dirty underwear."

Shikamaru looked at the clock and decided that there was no point in trying to go back to sleep, so he laid Tobikuma on the bed, put a pillow on both sides of him, and got dressed. After he finished dressing himself, he dressed Tobikuma in one of the outfits Yoshino got him and left the apartment and headed down the street toward Asuma's house.

Since it was late by the time they got back to the village, Tsunade said that they would talk about what would happen with Shikamaru and Tobikuma the next day. Shikaku wasn't very happy with this, but agreed to it anyway. Shikamaru and Asuma agreed to meet at Asuma's house before the meeting, which was why he was standing in front of Asuma's door.

He knocked on the door and heard some shuffling around before the door opened. Asuma had a wide grin on his face when he saw Shikamaru standing outside his door with Tobikuma. "Hey," he said as he grabbed his Jonin vest and walked out, closing the door behind him. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Shikamaru said. "I just hope dad is happy with whatever is decided."

Asuma lost his smile. "Yeah. I'm not trying to ruin the relationship between you and your dad, but…"

"Don't," Shikamaru said. "Dad's the one that's ruining it. He's just being so dang stubborn about it." Shikamaru let out a long sigh. "He's being way too troublesome."

Asuma smiled and looked down at Tobikuma. "Mind if I hold him?"

Shikamaru looked at Asuma. "Yeah, go ahead," he said as he held Tobikuma out to Asuma. "The troublesome kid kept me up all night last night."

Asuma carefully placed Tobikuma in his arms and smiled. "He probably wasn't use to the surroundings."

"Yeah, probably, but still… Every. Hour."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I checked the clock every time. Every hour, on the hour," Shikamaru said annoyed. "I just about brought him over to you so he'd keep you up all night."

Asuma chuckled. "I wouldn't have minded."

Shikamaru looked up at him with a sly smile. "Careful, or I might just take you up on that offer."

They continued to talk about little things as they headed to the Hokage's building, and when they arrived, saw Shikaku and Yoshino waiting outside.

"Shikamaru," Yoshino said and ran up to him, embracing him in a bear hug. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"Mom, can't breathe," Shikamaru said as he tried to push his mom away, but gave up when the hug became tighter.

Finally, Yoshino let go of her son and turned to Asuma. "Good morning, Asuma. How is my grandson doing?" she asked as she took Tobikuma from him.

Asuma released the baby quickly when he felt Yoshino had a good grip on him. He knew not to get in the way of a woman and her grandchild. "He's good. Kept Shika up all night though."

"And how would you know that?" Shikaku asked threateningly as he walked up to them, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Because I told him," Shikamaru said defensively.

"Alright, that's enough," Yoshino said. "Shikaku, you promised you'd be on your best behavior."

Shikaku sighed and lowered his arms. "Yes, dear."

"Good. Now let's go. Lady Tsunade is waiting for us," Yoshino said as she walked toward the building.

The three men followed Yoshino up to Tsunade's door, and Shikaku knocked. When they go the ok, all four of them entered.

"Thank you guys for coming this morning," Tsunade started. "Last night was too late to do anything, and I figured the three of you would want to get some rest before this meeting."

 _'_ _Too bad I didn't get any,'_  Shikamaru said to himself.

"Now, first off," Tsunade said as she stood up and held out a syringe, "let's give you the antidote to the serum so we don't have any more unexpected male pregnancies." Shikamaru raised his arm and Tsunade lifted his sleeve, swabbed the area, made sure there was no air in the syringe, and stuck the needle in. "Lee didn't have the same reaction to this that Asuma and Guy did, so I think it'll be the same for you." She placed a cotton ball and tape over the needle hole and walked back over to her desk.

Shikamaru placed his hand over the spot. "What do you mean?"

"We strapped Lee down like we did with Asuma and Guy expecting him to go crazy, but nothing ever happened. After an hour we checked his blood and the serum was gone," Tsunade explained.

"I wonder why he didn't react the way Guy or I reacted?" Asuma questioned.

"I believe it's because of the babies," Tsunade answered. "I think that the babies took most of the serum into their bodies, which is why Lee didn't react as violently as you or Guy. Because you and Guy didn't have babies, your bodies had to get rid of more."

"That makes sense," Asuma said and looked over at Shikamaru. "Will he still be able to breastfeed?" Shikamaru blushed.

"Yes, the mammary glands are reacting to the birth itself, not the serum, and Lee has still been breastfeeding Taro even after the serum, so Shikamaru should be able to too," Tsunade said and went around her desk to sit down. "Now, the next thing. I was looking over the papers you brought back with you. Kabuto did his own tests on both Tobikuma and Shikamaru that we didn't, so they are helpful. Also, I said that I wanted to give Shikamaru the serum so that we wouldn't have any more pregnancies, but it looks like the serum may only be good for one pregnancy."

"What do you mean?" Shikaku asked.

"Well, apparently Orochimaru had tried several times to impregnate Shikamaru, but it either failed or Shikamaru's body just couldn't conceive another child. Those test are inconclusive because we got Shikamaru away from there before they could further test that theory."

"If he really wanted to test the theory, he can just use Kabuto or Sasuke," Shikamaru said.

"Sasuke?" Asuma asked. "He was there?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't to friendly," Shikamaru scoffed.

"Inoichi gave me a brief description on what happened and he didn't mention seeing Sasuke there, so he either left with Orochimaru or on his own," Tsunade said.

"So was I not hospitalized like Lee was because you saw that Lee and Taro were perfectly fine?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, and because Shizune was watching you the whole way back. She said you had no complications and that Tobikuma was good the entire way back too," Tsunade replied.

"Where is Shizune?" Asuma asked.

"Sakura went into labor at four this morning, so she's at the hospital with her right now," Tsunade said. "I'll be heading down there myself after this meeting."

"Which should be the next thing, right? The reason we're having this meeting in the first place?" Shikamaru asked. "What you're going to make me and Tobikuma do about our living situation."

"Yes, I was just about to address that. Now Shikaku has voiced very strongly that he wants Shikamaru and Tobikuma to have nothing to do with Asuma, however, Shikamaru has also strongly stated that he doesn't want Asuma out of his or Tobikuma's life, so, here is what I propose. Shikamaru, you will continue to live in the apartment that you're in now. Asuma will remain in his house. I will not force Shikamaru to marry Asuma. Mainly because Shikamaru is a widower, and we don't force widows or widowers to take another partner."

Shikaku smiled.

"However," Tsunade continued looking at Shikaku, who lost his smile, "I will also not try to stop them if they want to pursue a relationship."

"Lady Tsunade…" Shikaku started, but stopped when Yoshino smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow. What was that for?"

"I told you to behave. We discussed this last night, Shikaku. With Temari gone, Shikamaru is alone." Shikamaru looked down sadly at his mother's words. "If he finds comfort in Asuma, then we have no right to get in his way."

"Y-you're ok with that?" Asuma asked very surprised.

Yoshino looked over at Asuma. "While I wouldn't be completely satisfied with my son ending up with another man, I'll support whatever decision he makes. He is my son and I'll love him no matter what," she replied with a smile.

Shikamaru smiled back at his mother.

"That will be the situation," Tsunade said, getting everyone's attention back. "Asuma and Shikamaru will live in separate housings, and Asuma will have every right to Tobikuma as Shikamaru, and if they so wish, they can pursue a relationship. That is all on this matter, any other disputes will be dealt with between yourselves."

"Thank you, ma'am," Asuma said.

"Yeah, thanks," Shikamaru said.

Shikaku crossed his arms over his chest, but said nothing. He knew when he was out numbered, and didn't dare venture any further on the matter.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

A few hours later Shikamaru and Asuma were in the hospital visiting Kakashi, Sakura, and their daughter, Kiku. "Congratulations, Kakashi, Sakura," Asuma said as he handed Kakashi a gift bag.

"Thanks," Kakashi and Sakura said at the same time. They both smile at each other. "Well, open it, Kakashi," Sakura said.

Kakashi took the tissue paper out of the bag, reached in, and pulled out a pink onesie, a pair of pink booties, and a pink hat, which all had flowers covering them.

"I remembered hearing that you were going to name her Kiku, which means chrysanthemums, right?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura nodded. "Well, we couldn't find the exact flower on the clothes, but we got close."

"They're adorable," Sakura said. "Thanks, guys."

"Yeah, thanks," Kakashi said.

"So that's Tobikuma?" Sakura asked when she saw the baby in Shikamaru's arms.

"Yeah," he said as he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"He's adorable," Sakura squealed. "He looks just like you, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, but he does have Asuma's eyes, and his hairs sort of a mix between both of ours," Shikamaru said.

"Kiku's pretty cute herself," Asuma said as he stepped closer to see the little girl. She had very light pink hair and her skin was fair like her mothers. Her eyes were closed so they couldn't see them, but they looked like a shape that was in between Kakashi's eye shape and Sakura's.

"She has green eyes like Sakura," Kakashi said. "It's actually kind of mesmerizing."

"I'm sure it is," Asuma said with a smile. "So you're gonna have to beat back every man that tries to go after her."

"Hey, you'll have to worry about the girls," Sakura said. "Tobikuma's really cute."

"I think he's gonna pick up his dad's laziness," Asuma said. He already sleeps way more than normal babies do, at least that's what Shizune said as we were coming back to the village."

"Tch. If only he'd sleep like that at night too," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, babies tend to do that," Sakura said.

"Well, we're gonna head out. I'm still a bit tired from everything," Shikamaru said.

Asuma took Tobikuma from Shikamaru, shook Kakashi's hand to congratulate him again, and walked out behind Shikamaru. They went to Shikamaru's apartment and Asuma laid Tobikuma down in his crib as Shikamaru went to take a shower.

After the shower, Shikamaru sat down on the couch, laid his head against the back of the couch, and let out a long sigh. Asuma sat down next to him, which caused Shikamaru to turn his head toward the older man. "You haven't lit up at all."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I've decided to stop. Although, I have to admit that I really want one right now," Asuma said.

"As long as you don't do it around Tobi, or in my apartment, I don't really care," Shikamaru said turning his head back toward the celling and closing his eyes.

"I'll probably smoke one on the way home," Asuma said.

They were both quiet, and Asuma just watched as Shikamaru was slowly starting to fade off to sleep.  _'I wonder if he really will give me a chance.'_

Shikamaru opened his eyes and sat up. "I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he stood up and started heading to his bedroom, but was stopped when Asuma grabbed his wrist.

Shikamaru turned to look at Asuma, who was standing up. "Asuma?"

Asuma closed the distance between them and planted a soft kiss on Shikamaru's lips. He felt Shikamaru tense up and pulled away. "I hope that I can prove to you that I won't hurt you again."

Shikamaru looked away, a blush creeping up on his face. "I- I know you won't. It was Orochimaru who took over your body that time." He looked back at Asuma. "He raped me using your body."

Asuma was stunned to hear this. "Shika…"

Shikamaru pulled his wrist out of Asuma's grip. "Just give me some time."

Asuma watched as Shikamaru disappeared into his bedroom. When the door closed, Asuma smiled then walked out of the apartment to head home, unconsciously grabbing his pack of cigarettes and placing one in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you did, or if you have any suggestions on how I could improve it.
> 
> Also, don't forget to go read Male Pregnancy Serum ;)


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